Payments platform OKTO has taken a big leap internationally by expanding in India, seeking to build on its foundations built in the European and Latin American markets.
The Athens-based company will launch its cash-to-digital closed loop payments service OKTO.CASH as the launch of one of its flagship products in India, the world’s most populous country and fifth largest economy by GDP, marks a significant milestone for the company.
OKTO’s approach in India will initially focus on smaller cities, with the solution distributed across over 100,000 retail points via a pan-Indian network. The company aims to expand this to 500,000 retail points by the end of 2024.
OKTO Chief Distribution Officer, Björn Katerbau, said: “This expansion underscores our commitment to delivering superior payment experiences at every transaction and in every region that requires such services.
“We are dedicated to empowering online merchants with enhanced payment service offerings, aligning with our strategy of being a last-mile expert and helping online merchants acquire new consumers.”
OKTO’s push in India comes at a time of growth for the country’s payments and finance industries. Various companies of various sizes are taking note of India’s payments markets potential – for example, big tech giant Google launched its Google Wallet product in the country earlier this year.
The country also has one of the most widely used domestic payment rails. India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is a real-time payment rail that has processed more than 11 billion transactions since launching in 2016.
Meanwhile, Indian policymakers and regulators are making moves to foster and encourage financial innovation. The country is often cited as an example of a growing Open Banking power, and the Reserve Bank of India is overseeing central bank digital currency (CBDC) efforts.
For OKTO, the launch of OKTO.CASH in India follows on from an active couple of years for the company, particularly in Europe and South America.
The firm has been looking to capitalise on the payments opportunities of Latin America’s burgeoning igaming market, whilst also shoring up its position closer to home via deals in Greece and Italy.
