PayPal is evaluating options to bring its full suite of payment offerings to India, according to a Times of India article.
PayPal, which was split from eBay last week, has struggled in the Indian market in the past, as it faced issues with the Reserve Bank of India. The RBI wanted the company to transfer the money held in its accounts to a bank within a pre-determined period, limiting its traditional functions.
Currently, PayPal facilitates cross-border purchases for merchants and consumers in India. Globally, about 24% of the PayPal’s business comes from this line.
“We are looking at our options to see what we can bring to India,” Vikram Narayan, managing director and country manager at PayPal India, told Economic Times. “We are talking to merchants and customers to see their pain-points. I can’t give you a timeframe.”
India is an important geography for the company after its separation from parent eBay. And the competition is fierce as a slew of digital wallets and payment service providers are raising billions of dollars to take pole position in the market.
Companies like Paytm have partnered with Alibaba, which has its own payment arm Alipay. Indian ecommerce giant Snapdeal is also looking at the financial services space.
Narayan said PayPal is confident about its role in the Indian market. Narayan said PayPal has hundreds of thousands of merchants in India using PayPal for cross-border trade, and millions of consumers in the country. PayPal also recently acquired Xoom, which is a money remittance company, and Narayan said India is a large remittance destination.