With Diwali just a day away, many of us are busy with last-minute shopping. While demonetization and the Covid pandemic forced us to adopt cashless transactions, the introduction of Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has taken things to another level, for both online and offline shopping. In a study by travel and lifestyle rewards company InterMiles across almost 1,700 people, 20 per cent of respondents said they preferred transactions via UPI (among people opting for cashless transactions such as cards, e-wallets, etc.).
This festival season, while e-commerce sites such as Flipkart and Amazon are grabbing customers’ attention with festive season offers, various UPI platforms are leaving no stone unturned in attracting shoppers. During the days before Diwali, various UPI platforms such as Google Pay, Paytm, PhonePe and others have cashback and other exciting offers. Here’s some of what’s out there.
1. Google Pay: Google has introduced a daily festival quiz and a ‘Fan Wall’ with cashbacks and other offers. ‘Fan Wall’ is a campaign where customers need to complete six recharges to avail vouchers and offers to buy cricket-related items. On completing one festival quiz every day, customers can avail cashbacks or discount vouchers. To get cashback of up to Rs 600 through Fan Wall, customers need to complete six modes of transactions listed under the category before November 14.
2. Paytm: The gold offer and Cashback Dhamaka are encouraging frequent use of the platform. Under the banner of “Yeh Diwali, Gold Wali”, the company has introduced daily lucky draw offers (October 27 till November 5). During this period, there will be daily lucky draws where users stand a chance to win gold worth up to Rs 5,000 for the gold they buy on Paytm. In the Cashback Dhamaka, lucky winners get cashbacks worth Rs 1 lakh every day.
3. PhonePe: There’s a cashback on offer on gold and silver purchases. Customers can avail 10 per cent and 5 per cent cashback on silver and gold, respectively, that they buy on the platform.
4. Amazon Pay: Besides the ‘Great Indian Festival’ on its e-commerce platform, Amazon has also introduced an app quiz. The winner of the quiz (conducted on November 2) can get Rs 40,000 in his/her Amazon Pay Balance wallet. The winner will be announced on November 3.
5. Whatsapp: While Whatsapp is yet to gain prominence as a payment app in India, it has introduced a cashback scheme this festive season. Users will get Rs 51 cashback for every transaction up to five transactions. There is no limit on the amount that you can transfer; it can even be Re 1.
Gain and Pain
Debolina Sanyal, 26, who works with a fintech company in Bengaluru, is an active user of UPI platforms and is keen to earn cashbacks if she can. “Who doesn’t like extra rewards? Moreover, these digital platforms not only make transactions easy, but we get cash as well.”
As with all good things, conditions apply. While such offers are attractive, understand the details before clicking ‘Pay’.
“More than profits, these companies focus primarily on gaining leadership in the business. They want more people to spend on their platforms. Customers are also enjoying such offers. But the offers have some conditions, so a customer should read the terms and conditions properly,” says Mrin Agarwal, a financial educator, and director, Finsafe India, a financial education platform.
Is the cashback available immediately or is it spread over a few days/weeks/months; how long is it valid for; are the vouchers for products or brands that you use are some of the things you need to check. So, take a pause and read the details before giving in to any offer.
