A new partnership between Indian payment services provider Citrus Pay and gift card solutions provider Qwikcilver will enable up to 17 milllion users to make in-store mobile payments using digitally generated gift cards. According to the terms of the deal, Citrus Wallet users will be able to preload a virtual gift card with funds stored in their wallet and use the gift card as the main payment instrument at the point-of-sale in more than 5,000 stores across India.
In an interview with NFC World, a Citrus Pay spokesperson said,
“The Woohoo app, powered by Citrus, enables the preloading of Woohoo gift cards or vouchers with a desired amount of money. A user logs into the app and generates a voucher in-store by choosing the brand they are shopping at. The merchant accepts the payment by scanning a barcode on the user’s screen like most prepaid vouchers. If the voucher is not used within 30 minutes, it expires and the money is then refunded into the user’s Citrus wallet.”
India represents one of the largest potential prepaid markets in the world and as the domestic economy improves and consumer spending increases, the demand for gift cards will only grow. This coupled with growing mobile payment use means that digital gifting will become a popular payment type in the future and allow the partnership between Citrus Pay and Qwikcilver to be a success.
Overview by Tristan Hugo-Webb, Associate Director, Global Payments Advisory Service at Mercator Advisory Group
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