Google reaches out to small and medium businesses with Google Pay platform

Google has strengthened its position in India with small and medium businesses (SMBs), with a host of new and updated offers like Google My Business (GMB), Digital Unlocked and Market Finder to connect over a million businesses digitally. The company is also looking at the SMB space as a good way to push Google Pay (GPay) platform, which has already crossed $81 billion worth of payments in the country, said Shalini Girish, director, Google marketing solutions.

“We have built a dedicated merchant experience through GPay to help small businesses grow. Through this, customers will be able to easily spot them on the GPay home screen, or when they are featured as a suggested business. There are 1.2 million merchants already on GPay, using it to receive payments, or transfer money to suppliers or employees,” she said.

“As of May 2019, GPay is used by 45 million users on a monthly basis, with $81 billion worth of total payment value (TPV) set to pass through GPay at an annualised run rate level,” said Girish. The company is rapidly scaling up their outreach among small businesses, with almost two out of three transactions coming in from non-metro locations, spanning over 300,000 small towns and villages, in addition to partnerships with start-ups like Pine Labs and Innoviti to increase footprint.

These initiatives follow Google’s programmes like Digital Unlocked and GMB, which are meant to bring more businesses online.

According to the annual report of 2017-2018 from the micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) ministry, the sector contributed around 36 million jobs (70 per cent) in the manufacturing sector. MSMEs are spread across various clusters in India. However, lack of access to the right digital skills has been a stumbling block for many businesses in their attempts to improve their reach. Global tech giants such as Adobe, Amazon, Dell, IBM, Intel and Microsoft are already tying up with NITI Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission in an attempt to boost technology outreach of SMBs in the country, apart from independent initiatives like Google.

“SMBs in India have multiple problems in reaching their consumers and these solutions are designed to cater to entrepreneurs at different digital awareness levels,” said Girish. The GMB app was redesigned in December last year to make it easier for businesses to increase footfalls through direct consumer messaging options, posting business updates and even the ability to create a free website and events. 
 

Over 1 million Indian businesses are using websites with GMB and finding newer ways to connect with consumers, she added.

Every month, across the world, Google connects people to businesses nearby more than 9 billion times, including over 1 billion phone calls and 3 billion direction requests to stores. For the digitally mature businesses, Google has the Digital Unlocked initiative in collaboration with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. Since its launch in 2017, over 400,000 Indian businesses have been trained under the programme.