Xiaomi has already climbed its way to becoming the second-biggest smartphone player in India and it’s now looking to expand that dominance to the virtual payments sector. The brand’s Mi Pay service is apparently going to land in India any day now.
Mi Pay was born China back in 2016. It works just like Apple Pay and Samsung Pay, allowing users to make contactless payments using NFC technology through debit and credit cards. According to The Hindu Business Line though, Xiaomi isn’t going to bring this model of payments to India.
Xiaomi Mi Pay Rivals
Instead, Mi Pay is set to focus on UPI transactions. This will put it in direct competition with several major players like Paytm, PhonePe, PayU, and Google Pay (formerly Google Tez). Even WhatsApp is supposed to enter the market, although its launch has been heavily delayed.
Xiaomi is reportedly conducting trials and tests of its peer-to-peer service right now. Sources say it’s waiting for RBI approval at the moment and has tied up with a leading private lender for service integration. More partnerships are expected once it gets the green signal from the RBI.
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This isn’t a certainty though. WhatsApp Payments has been stuck in beta testing for months on end as the company tries to work out a deal with the government. The administration wants the firm to set up a local data center in India and publicize the data-sharing contract it has with parent company Facebook.
Xiaomi might come under similar scrutiny since it’s a foreign firm. The Indian digital payments sector already has a big Chinese investor in the form of Alibaba which owns a considerable stake in Paytm.
Billionaire Warren Buffet recently sunk over Rs 2500 crore into Paytm, so Xiaomi will have its work cut out for it to compete.