Xiaomi enters the crowded payments space in India with the launch of Mi Pay – Android Authority
What happened: Chinese smartphone giant Xiaomi announced on Tuesday the rollout of its payment system, Mi Pay, in India following a December launch in beta mode. Through the app, users can make purchases via multiple payment options such as Unified Payments Interface (UPI), credit cards, debit cards, and internet banking. Mi Pay is built on the UPI platform developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and supports over 120 banks, according to the company. The app will be available soon through Mi Apps, Xiaomi’s Android app store, according to Xiaomi India’s official Twitter account.
Why it’s important: Mi Pay, first introduced in China in 2016, is entering India’s lucrative yet crowded mobile payment space dominated by homegrown mobile payment provider, Paytm, which is backed by Ant Financial. Estimates from 2018 show rapid growth in mobile payment adoption, which rose 39.7% year-on-year to 73.9 million. Many global tech goliaths have entered India’s payment market over the past few years, including Google with Google Pay (formerly Tez), Samsung with its flagship payment service Samsung Pay, and Alibaba with its 30% stake in Paytm.