In Conversation: Safety Aspects of Digital Tokens Vs UPI Payments

We all at some point of time have used or using the recurring payments. Some of us may have forgotten to pay on time due to our busy schedules. To help you manage recurring payments, Paycorp enables payment through different gateways.

In an exclusive interview with Reshmi AR of Sakshi Post, Mr. Balaji Jagannathan, Co-founder & Director, Paycorp discusses more about tokenisation of cards and financial safety etc.

1. What inspired the idea behind your business?

Balaji: We have been working in the payments space for more than 25 years now. We have seen that there is tremendous scope to bring convenience and security to customers in the payments space. Digitization has made a big difference to consumers in all walks. Yet B2B2C payments have lagged behind, primarily because there is very little focus given to this space. Seeing this up close, inspired us to make a difference in a niche space where we can help our customers leapfrog with convenience, security, and better cash flow.
 
2. Talk to us about the tokenization of cards, what exactly does it mean and what implications does it have for the average consumer?

Balaji: Tokenization of cards is a simple, yet powerful mechanism for customers to transact online using cards safely. Today consumers share their card details with eCommerce portals which these portals store in their entirety. While many of these eCommerce providers store them safely, we have seen that hackers gained access to the card details frequently. Tokenisation provides a standardised safe mechanism where eCommerce providers can use a specific, designated 3rd party to store the card information. Consumers need not provide the full card details to the eCommerce providers anymore. Instead, they can share the corresponding token. The eCommerce providers will use the token to retrieve the card information and complete the transaction safely.

3. In terms of financial safety, how safe are digital tokens compared to UPI payments or debit cards?

Balaji: As you can imagine, Tokens offer an extra layer of safety and security to customers over the current levels of safety of credit cards. Tokens reduce the usage of full card detail on the internet and make the entire card ecosystem safer by a few notches.

4. You are a director of a successful company, what are some of your favourite aspects of being a director?

Balaji: As entrepreneurs we seek to identify challenges faced by consumers, find ways to solve them, and thus provide value. This constant process of looking for, identifying and solving problems and thus making a big difference to as many customers as possible is the most exciting aspect to me.

5. You also co-founded PayCorp, what were some of the challenges you faced along the way and how did you overcome them?

Balaji: Paycorp is our second start-up. Thus, we have had a lot of learnings from our 1st start-up that we have applied proactively. We have managed to win 13 major customers in the short span of 1 year. Since we managed unprecedented growth in such a short span, we are working on identifying ways and means to bring additional value to them in order to keep the customer delight quotient high.

6. You are responsible for coming up with future strategies, finance, branding, and marketing as well as new market penetrations, how do you manage your time between all these duties and responsibilities?

Balaji: Managing time is the most important aspect of the leadership team of any high-growth company. The key is to work with great leaders in your team. We have experts in respective fields working with us in all aspects of the business. Having built a strong leadership team, I rely totally on delegating the responsibility and thus rely on their ability to deliver. “Trust and entrust” is the mantra we follow in our organisation.

7. You are also very fond of learning new languages, wildlife, and blogging, how do you maintain the perfect work-life balance?

Balaji: Working at Paycorp is enjoyable, so if one is enjoying the work and knows what and when to delegate the work you end up making time for yourself. Thus, work life balance is taken care of as a bi-product.

8. Do you have any more tips on how one can maintain a perfect work-life balance?

Balaji: Though it is rare but very true in my case that I enjoy the work I do, so if one is enjoying the work then it doesn't feel like a job. Before performing any task, check if any one in the organisation can do this better than you. If so, hand it over to them. If the task is repetitive in nature, check if this can be outsourced. If so, out-source it. If you have done a particular activity and mastered it, then teach it to someone else and hand it over to them. If none of the above is possible, then do it yourself. If you follow this, you will not have to take work home.

9. You have definitely come a long way in your respective industry and made a name for yourself, what are your plans for the future? What’s next?

Balaji: The target is to grow Paycorp into a billion-dollar company. So, we as a team are working towards it to realise the dream, there will be many other instances in the journey which will push us and sometimes draw us back. But the focus on the ultimate goal is unwavering.

10.  What are some mistakes you made that you think you would have avoided now?

Balaji: I would not call them mistakes. I call them learning. Do not use debt to fund your business. Use equity instead. Revenue is the best form of money. Debt, equity, etc buy you time. Revenue is more important than active customers. Cash flow is more important than Profit.

11.  A lot of young, aspiring entrepreneurs might be reading this, do you have any advice for them?

Balaji: Entrepreneurship is not a sprint. It's a marathon. So persistence is more important than anything else. As in any long journey, you need trusted partners.

12.  In our eyes, you are a successful individual, but what is your definition of success?

Balaji: The reputation you build for yourself by which anyone will vouch for your integrity is real success to me.