Flipkart wants to make it easier for customers to complete purchases with the launch of Visa Safe Click (VSC), which will enable the eCommerce marketplace to deploy India’s first in-app device-based network authentication solution.
The move will eliminate the need for One Time Passwords (OTP) for transactions up to INR 2,000 so that customers can make purchases with ease, especially those without steady access to the Internet.
“At Flipkart, it is our constant endeavor to simplify and quicken the shopping experience for customers on our platform, to increase their comfort and convenience. VSC is the outcome of one such effort and completely replaces OTP with a background authentication, removing the need for any additional customer action,” said Ranjith Boyanapalli, Head – Fintech and Payments Group, Flipkart.
Flipkart was acquired by Walmart in 2018 for $16 billion. Launched in 2007, the Flipkart Group is one of India’s largest eCommerce marketplaces and includes companies Flipkart, Myntra, Jabong, and PhonePe. The company saw 50 percent growth in new users during its annual Big Billion Days sale, with 70 billion views during the first six days of the event, which began on Sept. 29.
But rivals like Reliance Industries, Alibaba and Amazon are also looking to attract the more than 1.3 billion people living in India to their platforms. A 2018 report by software industry lobby group Nasscom and consulting firm PwC India estimated that India’s eCommerce market might reach $150 billion by 2022, as well as possibly contribute 4 percent of GDP by the same year. It also predicted that during that five-year period, the number of Internet users in the country will nearly double to 850 million, and the growing e-tail market could grow at a compounded rate of 30 percent each year to surpass $60 billion in market size by 2022.
With that in mind, Flipkart has been working on ways to stay ahead of the competition. The company recently invested $4 million (about Rs 29 crore) in rewards platform EasyRewardz, which will help Flipkart as it aims to enter the offline-to-online segment. In addition, Flipkart is reportedly getting into the food delivery business with the roll out of FarmerMart, a food business that would sell packaged food and locally produced products.
