PayPal takes its look and feel seriously, recently lodging a complaint against an Indian digital payment services and eCommerce company that it claimed looks too much like PayPal.
According to a report, in the complaint filed in India, PayPal said the colors used by Paytm, the Indian payment competitor, look too much like its color scheme, pointing out that both services started with the word “pay.” PayPal also contended Paytm’s logo was “deceptively and confusingly similar” to PayPal’s logo, noted the report. While it’s nothing new to sue a competitor that looks similar to the original company, the report noted the move on the part of PayPal may be more competitive given Paytm has become one of the leaders in the digital payments market in India.
The payments market in India is a crowded one, but Paytm has stood out from the pack and is benefiting from the government’s move to take certain currency out of the system. In November, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the country’s 500-rupee and 1,000-rupee banknotes are being taken out of circulation. Taking those notes out of the financial system represents an effort to stymie fraud efforts, corruption and what the site noted as “illegal cash holdings.” Modi stated that the illegal activities are among the “biggest obstacles in eradicating poverty” — with a bead being drawn on tax evaders.
With a cash crisis going on in India, many consumers have been embracing digital payments, which bodes well for Paytm. Paytm, MobiKwik and FreeCharge are all seeing an increase in downloads and number of transactions since the move on the part of the Indian government, according to the report. The report noted Paytm has an advantage over its competitors and PayPal due to its close relationship with Alibaba, the Chinese internet eCommerce giant. Alibaba and its financial technology unit, Ant Financial, own a 40 percent stake in Paytm’s parent company.
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