“Ongo aims to attract more merchants by pivoting from ‘payment-as-a-service’ to ‘payment-as-a-convenience’” – By, Mr. Sunil Khosla, Head Digital Business – Retail, India Transact Services Limited (A subsidiary of AGSTTL)

What is nature of Ongo’s business in India currently like? What does your current merchant network look like, and which markets have proven to be most successful?

Ongo is a provider of digital payment solutions in India. It provides an omni-channel payment transactions platform to corporates, merchants and consumers, offering payment-as-a-convenience.

Introduced by AGSTTL, Ongo ecosystem allows consumers to use one single payment system to make payments at POS terminals through various modes of payment including card-based (debit and credit cards), RFID, Bharat QR and UPI online acceptance. Merchants and consumers who initially use Ongo applications benefit from the continued convenience of using Ongo for other services, without having to switch to other platforms or providers. Our merchant services include device-based and device-less payment solutions, prepaid and loyalty programs, Cash@POS, loans against card receivables and other value added services.

As of March 31, 2021, we were one of the largest deployers of POS terminals at petroleum outlets in India (Source: Ken Payments Report). Further, we have deployed approx. 207,335 POS terminals as of March 31, 2021.

How has the pandemic transformed India’s digital payment landscape? Has there been a significant increase in the demand for contactless modes of payments by merchants? 

The Indian digital payment space has seen extraordinary growth in the last few years, with the volume of transactions increasing at a CAGR of 36%. Growing preference for contactless transactions and tailored financial offerings by fintech players have resulted in digital payment gaining traction. New and innovative payment products such as UPI, NETC, FASTag and BBPS have contributed to the growth of the digital payment industry. To cater to this growth, we intend to leverage our existing presence in the consumer-oriented sectors to service the growing demand for products and services.

COVID-19 pandemic has paved the way for rapid adoption of contactless payment alternatives such as UPI, QR code-based payments and AePS. It has also presented an opportunity for NFC technology-based POS terminals, which offer contactless transactions POS terminals enhanced with features to support UPI are in demand resulting in an increased demand at large retail stores to speed up the billing process.

What are the various ways in which loyalty programs/value added services benefit SMBs and MSMEs in this competitive retail environment? What are the unique ways in which Ongo’s POS terminals support merchants? 

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Could you elaborate on the benefits of Ongo’s prepaid cards?  

Ongo Prepaid and Ongo Rewards are loyalty programs to help merchants enhance customer retention & brand proposition, generate additional revenue and acquire new customers.  For instance, we offer loyalty prepaid platforms to oil companies to support its fleet operators. Our Value-added Services (VAS) portfolio consists of Cash@POS facility, Ongo Billing++ and loans against card receivables to cater to diverse merchant needs. We believe that the combination of VAS such as prepaid or loyalty programs and cash@POS, and services that help simplify their operations such as the billing software and merchant analytics application can help merchants grow their business. We also provide customized mobile wallets and prepaid programs for large organisations

In addition to payment acceptance at our all-in-one PoS solution, various Ongo applications for merchants & Ongo Prepaid platform, our IPS-based solutions (Integrated Payment solutions) at fuel retail outlets allow instant cashless discounts offered by the GoI for transactions realised at PoS machines to benefit the end-consumer. It also allows seamless reconciliation for OMCs. 

What are Ongo’s future plans for the Indian market? 

Ongo aims to attract more merchants by pivoting from ‘payment-as-a-service’ to ‘payment-as-a-convenience’. By doing so, we believe that we will be able to tap into a variety of services and platforms and expand our revenue streams. We will continue to expand our focus on digital initiatives and increasing our digital footprint, specifically in the OMC sector. Further, we intend to continue to leverage our POS network to cross-sell our VAS to merchants, such as loans against card receivables, local account management, bill payments and so on.

What are the digital payment trends you foresee in the new normal?

Growth in digital payments in India has been driven by multiple factors such as the launch of new and innovative payment products, increased demand for cashless transaction due to COVID-19, increasing smartphone adoption, a growing need for faster payment modes, and a strong push from the GoI and regulators towards adoption of digital channels. Additionally, increased penetration of debit and credit cards, the growing e-commerce sector, and rising disposable income will provide an opportunity for growth of POS devices in India. As a result, retailers are expected to either upgrade or install new devices to use these technologies.

India’s prepaid card market has also witnessed tremendous growth in recent times due to rapid urbanization. In such a scenario, the use of open loop cards in diversified domains can become an attractive feature; and the open loop prepaid cards market could integrate various industries ranging from healthcare and campus cards to payroll and gift cards.