Walmart India will partner with the PhonePe network to offer a mobile payment option at Walmart's B2B cash-and-carry stores.
PhonePe is part of the
Registered members of Walmart India's 23 Best Price Stores across the country will be able to pay for purchases from the PhonePe app on their mobile phones, through a linked bank account or from a credit or debit card in the PhonePe wallet.
The new payment option is targeting India's kirana members, or small retail shop owners, who may not have credit or debit cards or access to other e-wallets. The in-app payment system also allows users to make a phone or online order at the Best Price e-commerce marketplace.
"This initiative reiterates our commitment to help kiranas and other small businesses to prosper," Krish Iyer, president and CEO of Walmart India, said in a press release. "The PhonePe payment system will help our members streamline their business processes and spend more time in their stores with customers."
With more than one million Best Price members, mainly kiranas, being introduced to the PhonePe mobile payment service, the companies are hoping to accelerate a push to drive offline transaction traffic to digital payments.
PhonePe's digital payments software complements other physical and digital payment options at Best Price Stores and makes a Unified Payments Interface, or those from a bank account, available for the first time at these cash-and-carry stores.
"We have been working closely with the Walmart India team to deepen our ties, and the launch of PhonePe's payment solution in stores and the B2B commerce platform is a step in that direction," Sameer Nigam, CEO and founder of PhonePe, said in the release. "With this partnership, we will be able to help these businesses digitize all of their payment transactions — from taking payments from customers to paying at Best Price Stores for their own purchases."
The initiative falls in line with other
