Consideration urged for a waiver of GST on all financial services made available from BC outlets, an Income Tax relief for the next seven years, and reduced import duty on essential financial services devices
FinTech BizNews Service
Mumbai, January 31, 2024: As the Indian budget approaches, fintech companies are buzzing with anticipation. Anand Kumar Bajaj, Founder, MD & CEO, PayNearby, shares very important demands on behalf of the sector: “As we anticipate the Union Budget, the focus on Bharat, India's rural heartland, takes centre stage. The journey towards a $5 trillion economy hinges on the transformation of these rural areas, driven by groundbreaking financial and digital solutions provided by leading fintech players. A robust tech stack riding on the back of a strong distribution network has opened doors for Bharat to access innovative financial and digital services. Our commitment to making banking, credit, assurance (insurance + asset), and e-commerce services accessible to Bharat is exemplified by the unique infrastructure we have built. However, for these services to reach citizens at the last mile, technology, security, trust, and Government support are crucial.
Towards this purpose, in the Budget 2024, we urge consideration of
1. Tax benefits on total expenditure for fintechs involved in the financial empowerment mission. In light of this, we propose specific measures, including a special 5% GST rate for startups working for last-mile empowerment, facilitating crucial financial and digital services to the citizens. A GST subsidy, even a modest one, would significantly ease the reach of financial services and government benefits, encouraging innovation in the financial empowerment space.
2. We also urge for a waiver of GST on all financial services made available from BC outlets, an Income Tax relief for the next seven years, and reduced import duty on essential financial services devices.
With the majority of PayNearby's BC network operating in tier II and beyond regions, serving as banking hubs in areas with limited financial infrastructure, this would ensure sustainable growth and motivate more last-mile retail banking agents to offer seamless services everyone, everywhere.”
About PayNearby:
Incepted in April 2016, PayNearby is India’s leading branchless banking and digital network. PayNearby operates on a B2B2C model, where it partners with neighbourhood retail stores and enables them with the tools to provide digital and financial services to local communities. PayNearby’s mission is to make financial services available to everyone, everywhere. The company aims to simplify high-end technology so that it can be easily assimilated at the last mile while transforming the lives of its retail partners and customers.
Today, PayNearby, through its tech-led DaaS (Distribution as a Service) network, serves 75% of India and is enabling services like cash withdrawal, remittance, aadhaar banking, bill payment and recharges, savings, travel, digital payments, insurance and more. Currently, PayNearby’s 50 lakh plus microentrepreneurs across 20,000+ PIN codes assist 30+ crore customers across the country to the tune of more than ~8000 crores GTV per month.
