Transformation of the Digital Payment Ecosystem in India: A Case Study of Paytm
Paytm is a payment app in India providing e‐wallet services; it is also the most prominent mobile e‐commerce app in the world’s third‐largest economy. This article uses Paytm as a case study to better understand the global platform economy and its implications for social and economic inequities. We...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Cogitatio
2023-09-01
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| Series: | Social Inclusion |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/6687 |
| _version_ | 1797691162617708544 |
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| author | Aditi Bhatia-Kalluri Brett R. Caraway |
| author_facet | Aditi Bhatia-Kalluri Brett R. Caraway |
| author_sort | Aditi Bhatia-Kalluri |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Paytm is a payment app in India providing e‐wallet services; it is also the most prominent mobile e‐commerce app in the world’s third‐largest economy. This article uses Paytm as a case study to better understand the global platform economy and its implications for social and economic inequities. We contextualize the emergence of Paytm by drawing attention to its relationship with India’s developing digital infrastructure and marginalized populations—many of whom are part of the platform’s user base. We use a political economy lens to investigate Paytm’s market structure, stakeholders, innovations, and beneficiaries. Our research is guided by the question: What resources, infrastructures, and policies have given rise to India’s digital payment ecosystem, and how have these contributed to economic and social inequities? Accordingly, we audited the international and Indian business press and Paytm’s corporate communications from 2016 to 2020. Our analysis points to the tensions between private and public interests in the larger platform ecosystem, dispelling notions of platforms as neutral arbiters of market transactions. We argue that Paytm is socially beneficial to the extent that it reduces transaction costs and makes digital payments more accessible for marginalized populations; it is detrimental to the time that it jeopardizes user data and privacy while suppressing competition in the platform economy. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T02:09:24Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9bc649c3125e4c43970ecf4cfa10d4a1 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2183-2803 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T02:09:24Z |
| publishDate | 2023-09-01 |
| publisher | Cogitatio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Social Inclusion |
| spelling | doaj.art-9bc649c3125e4c43970ecf4cfa10d4a12023-09-06T14:46:27ZengCogitatioSocial Inclusion2183-28032023-09-0111332033110.17645/si.v11i3.66873180Transformation of the Digital Payment Ecosystem in India: A Case Study of PaytmAditi Bhatia-Kalluri0Brett R. Caraway1Faculty of Information, University of Toronto, CanadaInstitute of Communication, Culture, Information & Technology, University of Toronto, CanadaPaytm is a payment app in India providing e‐wallet services; it is also the most prominent mobile e‐commerce app in the world’s third‐largest economy. This article uses Paytm as a case study to better understand the global platform economy and its implications for social and economic inequities. We contextualize the emergence of Paytm by drawing attention to its relationship with India’s developing digital infrastructure and marginalized populations—many of whom are part of the platform’s user base. We use a political economy lens to investigate Paytm’s market structure, stakeholders, innovations, and beneficiaries. Our research is guided by the question: What resources, infrastructures, and policies have given rise to India’s digital payment ecosystem, and how have these contributed to economic and social inequities? Accordingly, we audited the international and Indian business press and Paytm’s corporate communications from 2016 to 2020. Our analysis points to the tensions between private and public interests in the larger platform ecosystem, dispelling notions of platforms as neutral arbiters of market transactions. We argue that Paytm is socially beneficial to the extent that it reduces transaction costs and makes digital payments more accessible for marginalized populations; it is detrimental to the time that it jeopardizes user data and privacy while suppressing competition in the platform economy.https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/6687digital walletfinancial inclusionmulti‐sided marketnetwork effectsplatforms |
| spellingShingle | Aditi Bhatia-Kalluri Brett R. Caraway Transformation of the Digital Payment Ecosystem in India: A Case Study of Paytm Social Inclusion digital wallet financial inclusion multi‐sided market network effects platforms |
| title | Transformation of the Digital Payment Ecosystem in India: A Case Study of Paytm |
| title_full | Transformation of the Digital Payment Ecosystem in India: A Case Study of Paytm |
| title_fullStr | Transformation of the Digital Payment Ecosystem in India: A Case Study of Paytm |
| title_full_unstemmed | Transformation of the Digital Payment Ecosystem in India: A Case Study of Paytm |
| title_short | Transformation of the Digital Payment Ecosystem in India: A Case Study of Paytm |
| title_sort | transformation of the digital payment ecosystem in india a case study of paytm |
| topic | digital wallet financial inclusion multi‐sided market network effects platforms |
| url | https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/6687 |
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