From making serpentine queues for paying electricity, phone, and other utility bills, to paying them digitally from the comfort of our homes, we have come a long way.
And, at the risk of sounding pompous, it’s important to point out Paytm’s role in making this happen. Be that as it may, this piece is not about us but about how other online retailers like UP-based Natty India are making online payments of utility bills easier in the country.
In February 2020, just before the pandemic started in India, Satyam Yadav, co-founded Natty India in Mainpuri, a small city in Uttar Pradesh.
He noticed that a lot of small shops like apparel stores, general stores, etc were still sending their staff to the electricity office to pay bills. They were even recharging their phones through nearby mobile shops. Satyam saw this as a good business opportunity.
With the help of a few software engineers, he quickly created an app that would allow people to pay utility bills as well as recharge their mobile phones. He spoke with these shop owners and convinced them to use his new app Natty India the next time they have to pay their utility bills and recharge their mobile phones.
But just creating an app wasn’t enough to pay bills. He needed a payment gateway that could process the payments.
That is when Satyam approached Paytm for Business to integrate his business with Paytm Payment Gateway. It has been about two years since Natty India has been using Paytm Payment Gateway to process bill payments for its over 50,000 customers.
We spoke with Satyam to understand his experience using Paytm Payment Gateway till now.
Three reasons why Natty India uses Paytm Payment Gateway
In the two years since Satyam started Natty India his life has been on a rollercoaster journey. From dealing with the pandemic, lockdowns, managing clients, to brokering deals with third-party operators for bill payments, the only constant, Satyam said, was the service from Paytm Payment Gateway.
Here are the three reasons why Natty India uses Paytm Payment Gateway:
- Quick and easy onboarding
We understand the eagerness of getting the business up and running. That is why we don’t want to delay the onboarding process.
All the onboarding process at Paytm Payment Gateway is 100 percent digital, which makes the KYC process faster.
“At that time we didn’t have the GST number, neither did we have any business-related documentation, etc. We soon sorted out all the documentation issues that are essential to integrate with Paytm Payment Gateway. As soon as we cleared the KYC process we were live with Paytm Payment Gateway,” Satyam told Paytm for Business.
Once customers are onboarded they can start using the gateway right away. We provide our customers robust APIs and custom SDKs to start accepting digital payments in less than 30 minutes using just a few lines of code.
Satyam found this feature meaningful. He said, “Although we have a team that helped us get started, integrating is quite simple and anyone can do it.”
- Quick settlement
While accepting online payment is a big relief for merchants, the time taken for settlement is a big problem as it affects cash flow. Most of the payment gateways take about two or three days to settle the amount. And if there is a holiday in between or weekend, it gets further delayed.
However, Paytm Payment Gateway settles the amount in just one day irrespective of government holidays or weekends.
Satyam said this is one of the biggest benefits of using Paytm Payments Gateway as none of the other payment gateways in the market offer this kind of service.
“When we started the company we were worried about delays in settlements. We have to send money to third-party dealers every day. There can be no compromise on that,” Satyam said.
“There are many payment gateways that offer T+2 and T+3 days settlement. But Paytm’s T+1 settlement feature is the best one.”
While Paytm Payment Gateway settles all payments in a day, we also allow businesses to settle the money on the same day for an additional cost. In their initial days, Natty India has indeed used this feature.
We have used Paytm’s immediate settlement feature as well, which allows me to withdraw money whenever I need it. Although that’s a paid feature, I feel it’s very useful for rainy days.”
- Customer care
While our technology is top-notch we are far from being perfect. Our customer care and sales team work tirelessly to ensure that any hitch that our customers face gets rectified as soon as possible.
Satyam said since his is also an online business, he understands the issues that online companies face. “But what separates a great online company from a mediocre one is how quickly they solve customers’ issues,” he said.
“I am very satisfied with the response that my Paytm manager gives me. He is always prompt in solving my problems. Even if it’s not in his hands, he tries to give me some other alternative solution.”
In short, Paytm Payment Gateway has made a lasting impact on Satyam and his business. If you also want to use a payment gateway that improves your business, consider using Paytm Payment Gateway.
