Worldline and SignCatch Launch Merchant Digitization Program in India

Worldline and SignCatch have reportedly partnered to help Indian merchants grow their business digitally.

This collaboration will bring together Worldline’s payment technology and SignCatch’s Bech super app platform designed for brands, retailers and wholesalers, IBS Intelligence reported Friday (April 14).

Worldline and SignCatch did not immediately reply to PYMNTS’ request for comment.

With the Merchant Digitisation Program (MDP) enabled by their partnership, Worldline and SignCatch aim to enroll 100,000 merchants in India within three months of launch — including retail stores, grocery stores and restaurants — and help them deploy digital payments and an online presence, according to the report.

The MDP project results from the partnership between the two companies announced in 2022, Vishal Maru, executive vice president of financial institutions at Worldline of India, said in the report.

“We have a strong network of over a million merchants through all our managed banks across the country and we will be extending this offering to our partner banks and their merchants,” Maru said in the report.

SignCatch’s Bech platform provides in-app tools for billing, purchasing and marketing, as well as Worldline’s payment stack, according to the report.

“The Worldline and SignCatch partnership signals the dawn of a new phase in the digitalization of small and micro retailers across India,” SignCatch founder and CEO Sumit Duggal said in the report.

As PYMNTS reported March 1, India’s eCommerce market is one of the fastest growing in the world.

Annual online sales in the country topped $67 billion in 2021, 88% of adults use some form of mobile wallet and 833.7 million consumers are connected to the internet.

Foreign companies such as Amazon and eBay have a substantial presence in India as well, allowing local merchants to market their wares both domestically and abroad, according to “The Merchant’s Guide to Opportunities in High-Growth Markets,” the February edition of the “Global Commerce Tracker® Series,” a PYMNTS and Worldline collaboration.

SignCatch launched its Bech super app designed for Indian retailers in 2021, saying it was working with hundreds of small kirana stores — or mom-and-pop shops — along with big companies like Walmart to equip small business owners with access to intelligent technology and digital credit.