Online payments firms PayPal and MoneyGram are planning to raise their share in the remittance market in India, according to media reports.
At USD 79 billion, India’s remittance market is considered as the largest worldwide.
The reports revealed that Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar get the highest inflows from West Asia, while Punjab and Maharashtra receive more inflows from the US, UK, and Canada.
At USD 16 billion per year, the US to India remittance market is one of the biggest globally, said PayPal that is currently targeting Indian NRIs.
Recently, PayPal’s remittance arm Xoom raised its money transfer limit between Canada and India to CND 75,000 (USD 56,257.5). The previous cap was CND 15,000.
“Indian customers have traditionally sent money back home for uses, such as upkeep of houses or paying off home bills. However, we are looking to target the market at the higher end,” PayPal business development and marketing manager Nasar Agboatwala said.
“There are whole groups of Indians abroad looking to take advantage of investment tools in purchasing Indian real estate. Some NRIs are also looking to pay off their student debt or sending huge chunks of money before getting married, for example. We want to facilitate these transactions,” he added.
Meanwhile, MoneyGram said that the remittance to GDP ratio will decrease from the existing figure of 2.7% to 2.3% by 2020 and 2% by 2021.
“Remittance inflows, especially personal remittance, have a strong correlation to macro-economic factors in the country of employment. A fall or surge in oil prices, visa and emigration policies can impact the employment status. Beyond these factors, we do witness surges during festivals or periods of rupee depreciation,” MoneyGram APAC head Anil Kapur said.
