One 97 Communications Limited (OCL) that owns the brand Paytm, India's leading payments and financial services distribution company and the pioneer of QR and mobile payments, has announced the deployment of 800 Paytm EDC devices (card machines) across 42 Krishi Mandis in Madhya Pradesh. This significant initiative empowers the traders and farmers at the Mandis by facilitating smoother and more secure transactions, thus enhancing the financial inclusivity and operational efficiency within the local agricultural community.
A Krishi Mandi is a marketplace, part of a state's Agricultural Marketing Board, for facilitating trade of agricultural produce from farmers.
For the first time, the Krishi Mandi app in Madhya Pradesh has been integrated with Paytm EDC devices (card machines), marking a pivotal step in the digital transformation of agricultural sales. This groundbreaking initiative is revolutionizing the sector by digitizing the sales process, cutting costs, and shortening transaction times, which benefits farmers, traders, and other stakeholders. Additionally, it digitizes records at Mandis, streamlining operations, reducing queues and registration times, and significantly improving overall effectiveness in these marketplaces.
With the introduction of these devices, the time required to process agricultural sales, which previously spanned across days, has now been dramatically reduced to a few hours.
The devices serve multiple functions, enabling payments as well as creation of printed gate receipts and purchase orders. This comprehensive approach ensures that farmers and traders maintain both digital and physical records of their transactions, increasing transparency, trust and smoother transactions.
Paytm plans to continue expanding this service, with a goal to deploy an additional 1,300 card machines, across various Krishi Mandis over the next two years. This initiative reflects Paytm's commitment to addressing real-world challenges and enhancing digital empowerment in India's agricultural communities.
The National Informatics Centre (NIC) has developed the eMandi application to digitize all offline processes of the Mandi onto an online platform. To enhance user convenience and recognize the need for physical transaction proofs, such as sales and purchase slips, the eMandi app has been integrated with the Paytm card machine.
Paytm spokesperson said, "Krishi Mandis in Madhya Pradesh play a vital role in the region's agricultural market, and deployment of Paytm's pioneering card machines has significantly contributed to their journey towards digitisation. We are committed to empowering farmers and traders with the best payment tools, and we look forward to extending this initiative to more Mandis across the country in the coming years."
OP Khede, Secretary, APMC said, "We are dedicated to contributing to India's digital journey and have equipped Mandis with Paytm Card machines. This initiative not only saves significant time but also enhances operational efficiency. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive; both farmers and licensed traders are appreciating the new streamlined auction process enabled by these card machines. They are happy and excited about the faster and more efficient transactions." |
