PayMate to focus on Marketing initiatives

PayMate to focus on Marketing initiatives

‘ Brings Akshay Sharma- MTV onboard’

Mumbai, September 19, 2006: PayMate India, a mobile commerce solutions provider, who in July this year launched its signature mobile payment platform ‘PayMate’, has brought in Akshay Sharma as Assistant Vice President- Marketing, PR & Brand Development.

Akshay brings with him over three years of valuable experience from MTV Networks India Pvt. Ltd. As Marketing Manager at MTV he was instrumental in executing projects such as the Lycra MTV Style Awards, MTV Youth Icon of the Year, Kitni Mast Hai Zindagi (MTV’s first ever TV serial; produced jointly with Balaji Telefilms), Kutting With Karan, Bakra Din and the current season of MTV Hero Honda Roadies 4.

Prior to MTV, Akshay had stints with Radio Mirchi, ITC and Lokhandwala Hotels.

“Our biggest challenge is going to be consumer adoption. While VAS has taken off in a big way, people in India are not yet exposed to the thought of being able to transact through their mobile phones. I guess it’s also hard to believe that wireless transactions can be so convenient, easy and secure, and that’s exactly what we aim to address through our marketing initiatives in the times to come.”, says Akshay

He adds, “PayMate’s ‘Single SMS’ module makes it extremely convenient to transact and being an SMS based application makes it compatible across all mobile handsets and operators. Most merchants have difficulty in accepting remote payments since customers are apprehensive about sharing credit/ debit card details online or over the phone. Also a high percentage of customers opt for cheque/ DD pickup and drop options which impact the merchant’s profit margins substantially. This makes PayMate an ideal solution for accepting payments online, over the phone, through an IVR or even at a counter since PayMate customers do not have to divulge any card details and can pay from wherever they are.”

PayMate which has currently partnered with Citibank to offer its customers a secure and efficient method of payment already has Rediff, Naukri, Jeevan Saathi, 99 acres, Cleartrip.com, Travel Mart, Big Tree (Movie ticket bookings) and Telebrands (Teleshopping) as its list of merchants and is looking to add more merchants (airlines, telco’s, utilities, insurance, retail, F&B outlets, etc) and banks to its repertoire through focused marketing initiatives.

“We are excited to have Akshay on board with us in PayMate. Akshay brings consumer marketing and branding experience which is relevant and in sync with our vision of establishing PayMate as a consumer brand to reckon with in the days ahead.”, expresses Ajay Adiseshann, Founder & MD, PayMate.

To use PayMate, Citibank customers need to sign up for this service with the bank by simply sending “PayMate” as an SMS to 2484. The customer will then be called back and registered for the service following which they can conveniently transact at any of PayMate’s accredited merchants.

On receiving this SMS, the bank will verify the user’s mobile number with the account and on confirmation will debit the account accordingly. The merchant and the customer will receive a confirmation message from the bank approving the transaction. The entire transaction takes place in a matter of a few seconds and at the cost of a single premium SMS.

PayMate offers a secure payment solution as no credit/debit card information is ever disclosed during the transaction process. The trust model is based on the recommendations by Ernst & Young; which provides the security measures for both the bank as well as the customer.

About PayMate India Pvt. Ltd.

PayMate India Private Limited is a mobile commerce solutions company based in Mumbai. PayMate India has been spun off by Coruscant Tec, a mobile content developer and aggregator, to offer comprehensive mobile commerce solutions.

PayMate was founded in May 2006 by Ajay Adiseshann, Founder and MD, Coruscant Tec and Co-founder, Probir Roy. In a short span of time PayMate India has partnered with Citibank to offer a unique mobile payment solution – PayMateTM . The company has tied up with major retail partners such as Rediff.com, Naukri.com, Cleartrip.com, Jeevansaathi.com and 99acres.com to provide its users a diverse portfolio of merchants to choose from.

PayMate India is funded by Silicon Valley based Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Sherpalo Ventures who have helped build some of the world’s leading brands and companies like Amazon, Google, Sun Microsystems. For more information log on to www.paymate.co.in