PayNearby, the hyperlocal fintech network with over 8 lakh retail touchpoints, selling financial products through the Kirana network and empowering them digitally in the process, has recently partnered with TRRAIN Circle (Trust for Retailers and Retail Associates of India) and RASCI (Retailers Association’s Skill Council of India) to reach out to 20 lakh retailers at the earliest through existing digital channels and help up-skill and certify retailers. In an exclusive interview with Point-of-Purchase, Anand Kumar Bajaj, Founder & CEO, PayNearby, discusses how the company plans to reach the target and bridge the massive digital and financial gap in India.

Traditional small scale retailers are not that open to technology and neither are they too tech savvy. How do you educate them? And what kind of support/ services do you provide to make them financially and technologically sound?

It’s not about retailers not being tech savvy. It is about improving the user experience and interface and it can be done by training them through videos and then providing the transaction screen. Eight lakh retailers have registered on our platform and are able to smoothly transition into stages of transaction and grow. Whenever a new product/services is launched, we disseminate the training videos on our app on every local language for our partners so that he is able to understand. When we on-board retailers on our platform, we do a KYC verification, PAN validation, account number validation etc to on-board him in a proper manner.

You have recently partnered with TRRAIN and RASCI to digitally up-skill and certify the retailers. What was the main objective of these two partnerships? How are you planning to achieve that target of up-skilling 20 lakh retailers by 2020

Collaborating with TRRAIN Circle is another milestone in the journey, as it will ensure that retailers at the first mile up-skill themselves and are able to deliver the financial products seamlessly to the customers at the last mile. The partnership will enable e-learning videos along with a slew of skilling and knowledge-building courses, including financial and insurance planning and career guidance to the PayNearby retailers. Additionally, the platform will also promote holistic well-being by hosting in-house counselling for the retailers.

And to further ensure continued up-skilling and recognition of retailers we have also joined hands with the Retailers Association’s Skill Council of India (RASCI) to certify retailers for Individual Sales Professional / Self Employed, Retailer and Distributor Salesman job roles.

We wish to reach out to 20 lakh retailers at the earliest through existing digital channels and help up-skill and certify the retailers.

Read the full interview in January 2020 Edition of Point-of-Purchase Magazine.