Q1. Could you start by giving us a brief overview of your professional background, particularly focusing on your expertise in the industry?

Over the last 24 years, I’ve had the opportunity to build and scale businesses across consumer durables, mobility, retail, and fintech. I’ve led large P&L mandates at brands like Samsung and Panasonic and later transitioned into leading major business lines at Paytm as VP & Business Head, where I drove distribution, merchant acquisition, credit-on-POS, and device-led monetisation.
This cross-industry experience has given me a unique vantage point on how hardware, software, and payments converge at the point of sale—particularly in categories such as TVs, ACs, mobile devices, and appliances. Today, I work with brands and founders as an independent consultant, helping them sharpen their GTM, offline expansion, and embedded credit strategy.

Q2. How have customer preferences for offline digital payments evolved in the last few years, especially for high-ticket categories like consumer durables and smartphones?

Digital payments have moved from being “convenient” to “default,” even for high-value purchases. In categories like TVs, ACs, and smartphones, customers increasingly start the purchase journey with clarity on two things: offers and affordability.
UPI continues to dominate small-ticket spends, but in high-ticket categories, customers prefer card-based payments, embedded EMIs, and offer-linked financing. The most significant shift is that affordability conversations now happen even before product discussions. Consumers—especially in Tier 2/3—walk into stores asking for no-cost EMI, cashbacks, and bank tie-ups as an integral part of the purchase decision. The most prominent example is iPhone sales, which have done wonders with EMI-driven promos. 

Q3. What trends are you seeing in the adoption of EMIs for consumer durables and mobiles, and which customer segments are driving that growth?

EMI adoption in offline retail has become almost mainstream. Three clear trends stand out:
1. Penetration-led growth: For mobiles and entry-level durables, EMI penetration now mirrors what credit cards did 10 years ago—affordability is driving volume.

2. Shift from cards to cardless: Younger buyers and first-time credit users are opting for BNPL/cardless EMI, reducing friction and expanding the credit user base.
3. Tier 2/3 acceleration: Semi-urban customers are the fastest-growing segment. Their purchase intent is strong, but they look for predictable, transparent monthly outflows.
Premium categories—OLED TVs, large-format ACs, high-end mobiles—are seeing the highest share of long-tenure EMIs (12–24 months).

Q4. Where do you see the biggest opportunities for innovation in offline payments at the intersection of hardware, software, and credit?

The next wave of innovation will lie in integrated payment stacks, where hardware devices, billing systems, and credit rails work seamlessly. Three big opportunities:
•    Smart POS devices that combine payments, CRM, inventory, settlement dashboards, and embedded credit for merchants.
•    Instant credit at POS through AI-led underwriting—reducing reliance on cards and enabling wider access.
•    Post-sale journeys like warranty, buyback, upgrades, and AMC are being bundled with EMI or subscription models.
The winner will be the player who solves the merchant’s pain point end-to-end rather than just enabling a transaction.

Q5. When merchants evaluate different offline payment partners, what factors tend to shape their decision-making the most, and how do these priorities shift across small shops, regional chains, and large retailers?

Merchant priorities evolve with scale:
Small shops: Reliability, settlement speed, low MDR, and simple hardware. They want zero downtime and predictable cash flows.
Regional chains: Value-added services like EMI options, integrated billing APIs, dashboards, customer insights, and multi-bank credit tie-ups.
Large retailers: Enterprise-grade solutions—omnichannel payment orchestration, reconciliation automation, chargeback management, and dedicated service support.
Across segments, consistent service, transparent commercials, and quick issue resolution matter more than just MDR.

Q6. As offline-to-online payment journeys mature, which companies or models do you see handling this transition most effectively, and what’s driving their edge?

Players who combine hardware, software, and credit within a single ecosystem are best positioned. Models that excel here typically have:
Deep merchant integration (billing + catalogue + settlement).
Strong consumer funnels through app ecosystems.
Partnerships for bank-based and cardless credit.
Companies that own both the merchant side (POS, QR, invoicing) and the consumer side (wallet, UPI, app engagement) have an inherent advantage because they can stitch together the entire journey—discovery → checkout → EMI → post-sale.

Q7. If you were an investor looking at companies within the space, what critical question would you pose to their senior management?

“I understand your GMV and merchant count. But what is your path to sustainable monetisation within the merchant ecosystem—beyond just payments?”
Because the real value in this space doesn’t come from MDR; it comes from:

• device-led SaaS,
• merchant services,
• credit distribution,
• data-backed upgrade and warranty models,

and eventually,

• full-stack financial services.

Any company that can demonstrate a clear, non-subsidy-driven monetisation roadmap is better positioned for long-term value.