Paytm waives fees on business transactions

Fintech major Paytm said Tuesday that it would waive all fees on business transactions and allow its business partners to accept payments from the Paytm wallet, UPI apps and RuPay cards free of charge.

Paytm will absorb Rs 600 crore per anum in MDR charges from banks and other charges to help MSMEs (micro, small and medium-sized enterprises) during the ongoing pandemic, according to a statement.

This would ensure that these traders have enough liquidity to expand their businesses.

"This initiative will benefit more than 17 million merchants on Paytm ecosystem who use Paytm All-in-One QR, Paytm Soundbox and Paytm All-in-One Android POS to accept payments from their customers," the statement said.

It further added that merchants would also have the power to choose whether they want to receive payments directly to their bank accounts or their Paytm wallet.

The company has been promoting the acceptance of payments through all methods, including Paytm Wallet, UPI, RuPay, NEFT and RTGS, and allows merchants to accept unlimited Paytm All-in-One QR payments without fees, it added.

"We are absorbing MDR to extend support to our merchant partners to increase their overall liquidity to expand their businesses.

"We believe waiving off these charges will benefit all MSMEs accepting Paytm All-in-One QR, Paytm Soundbox and Paytm All-in-One Android POS devices to collect payments directly into their bank accounts," Paytm Senior Vice-President Kumar Aditya said.

This move would also encourage merchants to adopt digital payments that would further strengthen Digital India's mission, he added.

Paytm is also expanding financial support to MSMEs and aims to disburse Rs 1000 crore in loans by March 2021.

The company continues to offer unsecured loans under the "Merchant Loan Program" in the Paytm for Business app. Its algorithm determines the creditworthiness of the merchant based on daily transactions and arrives at a pre-qualified loan offer.

It has digitized the entire process from the loan application, from approval to disbursement without the need for additional documents in partnership with NBFC and banks.