Credit card penetration in India is an abysmal 1.75% of the population.
To target the population without credit cards, Google has launched prepaid voucher cards which can be paid for in cash, and used to purchase digital content on Google Play.
Google will be selling its prepaid vouchers in Vijay Sales and Spice Hotspot in Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Kolkata and Jaipur in the coming weeks. The vouchers will be available in denominations of Rs 500, 1,000, and Rs 1,500.
The Play Store lets Android users download apps, games, e-books, or rent or buy movies. Play Store credits can also be used to make in-app purchases, wrote Saurabh Agarwal, Head of Retail Partnerships – Google Play Gift Cards, India on the blog announcement.
Until now, the only accepted payment option were credit cards, which have a low penetration rate in India, with only 21 million users, according to a recent report published in The Hindu.
Play Store vouchers, can be redeemed at http://play.google.com/redeem
