Juspay Technologies may not have an app to its name but it facilitates mobile transactions for e-commerce, counting big names among its clients. It has also partnered NPCI to develop the BHIM app. Its Co-founder Vimal Kumar tells P P Thimmaya there are huge gaps in products, with 90% of the problems relating to second-factor authentication. Excerpts:
What is the focus area in the fintech space?
We felt there was too much of diversity and way too many steps consumers needed to follow. So, we wanted to come up with a solution that, without compromising on security or convenience, created a one-click experience for all digital payments. The UPI design is very good. It can be adopted on a big scale. We think Juspay is more than just a payments company. We have a high bar for value creation. There are lots of gaps in the market, with 90% of the problems relating to second-factor authentication. For instance, loading money is a big problem with a wallet. We have just made a beginning towards resolving them.
What has been Juspay’s relationship with UPI?
Much before the BHIM app was launched, we were building similar apps like the design language, how the buttons should look and so on. For us, NPCI was one more bank which brought in the banking integration expertise whereas we had the design ideas. This is a new line of business for us. We are building a lot of UPI labs within Juspay. When we grew to one million transactions per day from our merchant network, banks started noticing us and they asked us to build solutions. While working with UPI, we suggested numerous changes, doing all the designs. Then Juspay created an app platform for small banks. Juspay built these apps, running it with customer reviews, design and technology.
Who are your key customers?
We went with online merchants first as it was easier to work with them and they were hungry for solutions. We also tried to work with banks but it was very hard as they were more comfortable with large companies. Our first client was Redbus; they bet on us, for which I would give them a lot of credit. Theirs is a transaction-heavy operation. If our solution fails, they will lose business. We work with large merchants— their number is less than 100 at present—and we have also offered our solution on a trial basis to online merchants.
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What is Juspay’s business model?
We charge merchants a commission on every transaction and we are constantly trying to improve conversions. Even with banks we work on a recurring revenue model, so that we are incentivised to keep improving. We want to build for the common man.
Is Juspay looking at more funding?
We are well funded and quite frugal, but if we can get in a good partner we will surely consider it. We should be making a profit this year.
Has the slowdown in the e-commerce sector affected Juspay?
If we had relied on e-commerce alone, it would have been a challenge. By working with banks we have derisked ourselves. Today, many traditional players are going online and many micro-entrepreneurs need a platform based solution which we hope to build.
