Paytm expands 'Postpaid' lending services to kiranas

Digital payments major Paytm on Monday announced the expansion of its "Postpaid" lending services to make it easier for users to purchase products from neighbourhood kirana stores and other popular retail destinations such as Reliance Fresh, Haldiram, Apollo Pharmacy, Croma, Shoppers Stop, among others.

The expansion of the "Paytm Postpaid" service is aimed at eliminating the need to withdraw cash for meeting monthly household expenses as users will be able to buy groceries, milk, and other home essentials on credit, the company said.

Paytm Postpaid is offered in partnership with two non-banking financial companies with an instant credit line for various payments to Paytm app users.

"Paytm Postpaid is our mission to provide access to credit to every Paytm user," Amit Nayyar, President at Paytm, said in a statement

"During this ongoing pandemic, it becomes more important for us to stand by fellow Indians and give them the power to buy on credit when required."

The service has also been extended to various bill payments facilities available on Paytm, shopping on Paytm Mall, and online payments at Internet apps such as Domino's, Tata Sky, Pepperfry, HungerBox, Patanjali, Spencer's, among others, the company said.

Initially, select users will be shown a Postpaid icon in the Financial Services section to avail Paytm Postpaid post completion of their online know your customer (KYC) guidelines with partner NBFC.

The bill repayment can be done by the 7th of each month or earlier. Paytm Postpaid offers a passbook to analyse monthly spends to plan everyday expenses.

The company has introduced three variants of Postpaid -- Lite, Delite and Elite -- which will be offered based on partner NBFC's assessment.

While Postpaid Lite comes with limits up to ₹20,000 and a convenience charge which will be added to the monthly bill, the Delite and Elite offer credit limits from ₹20,000 to ₹100,000 in monthly spends with no convenience charges, Paytm said.

However, there is no cost associated with activating and keeping Paytm Postpaid or any of its variants, the company added.

"We are excited to expand this service for payments at kirana and online stores that play an important role in the whole neighbourhood and online shopping experience. We will keep expanding the offering to include more and more Paytm users," Nayyar said.