Paytm app to soon work without net connectivity

Paytm developed a mechanism within the app to generate a one-time password and barcode, without the use of data connectivity

Paytm, the e-commerce website, says one would soon be able to use its mobile wallet for making payments at places without an internet or with zero data connectivity.

The company has taken on ideas and technology from Alipay, payments arm of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, largest investor in Paytm. And, has come up with new features for its mobile app, in the run-up to opening a payments banks.

According to Nitin Misra, head of payment products at Noida-based Paytm, by August, users would be able to pay via the app, without the need for using the internet. The company is in talks with a number of airlines which want the mobile wallet for payment during flights, not possible hitherto, as there is no mobile connectivity mid-air.

“We have been working on various solutions. If the merchant is online, customer is offline or vice versa or even if they are both offline, they would be able to transact. Soon, they would be able use the wallet even if one is on a flight and the phone is in flight mode,” he said. Misra added Paytm had developed a mechanism within the app to generate a one-time password and barcode, without the use of data connectivity.

“The Paytm app will have a show code option. A customer can either show a bar code or a one-time password that changes every 60 seconds. Even if they are both offline, the vendor only needs to either key in the code or scan the barcode and the transaction would be done, the money transferred. We are already piloting it with a couple of airlines. It will be started by July-end or at best by August-end,” Misra said.

The app, he added, would help in usage at all places with connectivity issues. “From far-flung areas to parking lots, basements; anywhere where there is bad connectivity, the Paytm wallet would be active. It would work with absolutely no data connectivity. If we are talking of financial inclusion and on the verge of opening a payments bank, we need the app to be fluid and not bound by constraints,” he said.

The company's wallet is an established currency for instant payment in taxi rides, mobile phone recharge, television DTH renewal, money transfer and transactions at many small stores. Many schools and colleges, as well as petrol pumps, Mother Dairy outlets and major retail chains have also joined the payments platform.

Aiming for a convergence of sorts between its wallet service and payments bank, the One97-run company is targeting a customer base of 500 million by 2020, from the current 120 million.