CheqUPI (YC S23)’s Post

In our daily hustle, we often forget to acknowledge and appreciate the privileges we enjoy. Here's a reality check that might help us put things into perspective: - 1% of Indians take home 22% of the country’s income. - 1% of Indians account for 45% of all flights. - 3% of Indians make up all unique credit card holders. - 2.6% of Indians invest in mutual funds. - 8% of Indian households constitute 100% car ownership. - 6.5% of Indian users account for about 44% of UPI transactions. - 5% of Indian users account for about 33% of orders placed on Zomato. - 7.4% of urban Indians read an English newspaper. These figures, sourced from a leading newspaper, highlight the disparities in access and opportunities that exist in our society. When we reflect on these statistics, it's clear that many aspects of our daily lives are luxuries that a large portion of the population of our country may never experience. The flights we take, the financial tools we use, the cars we drive, and even the newspapers we read in English are privileges that only a minority in our country can afford. Let's practice gratitude for what we have. Whether it's the ability to travel, invest, or simply read this post, remember that these are dreams for many. Be grateful for your privileges, and consider how you can contribute to making these dreams a reality for others.

“Businesses should challenge the assumption that friction is always something to be eradicated.” Drawing upon original research with Google in 2022 on India’s hotel commerce, we explore why Indian travellers are forgoing seamless interactions and online bookings, to engage in more friction-filled practices. Our latest Viewpoints, reanimates the anthropological concept of the bazaar to make the case for friction as a virtue in the online world. We conclude by offering a framework for thinking about when and why human interaction should be expected and designed into, not out of, online commerce. #friction #ethnography #research

Fintech major Paytm witnessed significant growth in its travel segment in the March quarter (Q4) of the financial year 2023-24 (FY24), with flight bookings surging 19% year-on-year (YoY), exceeding the industry average of around 3% 👇 In an exchange filing on Monday (June 24), the company said international flight bookings on the platform rose 15% YoY in the month of April, driven by global travel partnerships and robust travel solutions. In November last year, Paytm joined hands with travel tech firm Amadeus, giving users access to a vast inventory of global flight options, including from carriers such as Singapore Airlines and Qatar Airways among others. The collaboration between Paytm and Amadeus automated travel operations for users by harnessing artificial intelligence. 🔗 To read more in detail, click here: https://lnkd.in/gSWKTjz7 #Paytm #news #growth #travel

Scapia - The Travel Credit Card 🧳🧳 McKinsey & Company & Booking.com published a report stating that India is set to be 4th largest travel spender globally by 2030 🚀 🚀 Thats why we see alot of #Creditcards in #travel category. Here's my take on one of the promising cards - Scapia Credit Card launched by ex-Flipster Anil Goteti backed by none other than Binny Bansal & Elevation Capital. 🎉🎉 Scapia in partnership with Federal Bank tables itself as a LTF (lifetime free) credit card that lets you earn rewards redeemable towards hotel & flight ticket. Here are the USPs for Scapia Credit Card 💳💳 ✅ No Joining Fee & No Annual Fee (LTF) 🚀 ✅ 2% reward rate on all spends & 4% reward rate on travel spends 🐖 ✅ Unlimited lounge access 🏅 ✅ Zero Forex Markup 💎 The only issue is the net reward rate which remains at around 2 -2.2% consolidated across inclusion & exclusion categories. There are cards in travel category that provide net rewards rate higher than Scapia like - Axis Bank Ace Card - 2.2%+ 🎉 SBI Card Cashback card - 2.1%+ 🥂 American Express MRCC - 4%+ 👑 airtel credit card - 3.5%+ 💣 What will define the way ahead for Scapia is their ability to redefine the simplicity the way a user is able to decode the rewards system & how many cards can they make accessible to the next 1 billion 💪

Writing to share a concerning experience I recently had with Goibibo and I believe it's important to make others aware of potential issues. I booked what was advertised as refundable onward journey ticket (attached screenshot). Unfortunately, when I attempted to cancel and seek a refund due to a family emergency, I found that the travel partner was not honoring the refund policy as advertised. And to make things worse, Goibibo is now not honoring the ticket itself and not allowing me to make the return journey too. This is not just a matter of inconvenience but a clear case of misleading and deceiving customers and failing to uphold the terms and conditions promised during the booking process. I believe in holding companies accountable for their actions, and I feel it's crucial to share this experience with the community. If anyone is considering booking with Goibibo, I strongly recommend other alternatives to avoid potential disappointment. I have been attempting to address this issue directly with Goibibo since more than 1.5 months now, but unfortunately, the resolution has not been satisfactory. GoIbibo Care Goibibo customer service team lacks any empathy and asked me for timestamp proofs when making the booking. Is the customer supposed to take screenshots of every page when making the booking? As customers, we deserve transparency and fair treatment, and I hope my experience serves as a cautionary tale for others. Feel free to share this post to help spread awareness, and if anyone has had a similar experience or has advice on how to address such issues, I would appreciate your insights. Let's continue to support honest and transparent business practices. #WorstCustomerService #customerexperiences #Beware #fraudawareness #fraudprevention #consumerrights #travelindustry Goibibo MakeMyTrip Sanjay Bhasin Rajesh Magow Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) Jyotiraditya M Scindia consumer complaints online CONSUMER RIGHTS ORGANISATION Department of Consumer Affairs Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore

I went through a sea of CHANGE in the past month as I shifted out of India...🌊 and this is what I experienced... I shifted out of the country to the Philippines in the month of August '24 as an opportunity knocked the door🇵🇭 🌊The process had started in the month of June with applications for visa. 🌊We realised that we had to GIVE AWAY ALL OUR BELONGINGS and carry only our certificates and clothes with us as cost of transporting far exceeded their worth. 🌊We listed our whole household for SALE, gave away every piece of furniture It did not matter whether we were EMOTIONALLY ATTACHED TO THEM OR NOT, we had no choice. Our new Car or the sofa we loved to relax on. 🏎️ 🌊My son, now in Class 9 saw a sea of change as he moved from CBSE to IGCSE. The school environment, friends circle, the way of delivery of lectures changed overnight. 🌊We had to RESTART FROM SCRATCH. managed for days with only basic living, spent weekends in gathering basic requirements. 🌊For each purchase we made sure we ANALYSED THE NECESSITY as we realised that when we leave this country too we have to leave everything we have behind here too. 🌊I had only heard of the phrase "Change is Scary in the beginning, messy in the middle and beautiful in the end. I can now say that these words are true. 🌊 As of now I am in the Middle of the Change, learning the ways of the new country...🌊 💴And I must say as I navigate through this country's payment systems that India is a far more developed and convenient place to stay thanks to e-commerce and the people. 💰 Thanks Swiggy Zomato Paytm PhonePe for making lives so convenient and easy in India. #india #economy #stockmarket #wealth #ecommerce LinkedIn LinkedIn Guide to Creating

Alipay+ enables tourists to travel and pay seamlessly around the world, bringing more opportunities to local merchants, this Chinese New Year, the first travel peak season of the year. Alipay+ has been enabling the use of more payment partner apps in key destinations and expanding merchant coverage to make global travel more seamless and convenient. As a result, total cross-border spending on the region’s leading e-wallets powered by Alipay+ increased by 252% year-on-year, while daily average transactions increased by 304%. By accepting cross-border transactions via Alipay+, local businesses can benefit from tourism growth. For example, through our partnership with PayNet (Payments Network Malaysia) in Malaysia, spending by Alipay+ partner users at DuitNow QR merchants increased 2.5x in Feb 2024, compared to Dec 2023. Globally, we have seen spending during this period increase significantly compared to last year. To gear up to welcome tourists in 2024, Alipay+ will continue to focus on enabling seamless mobile payments for more travelers at more merchants around the world, and working with our local partners to promote key destinations and local businesses ✈️🌎 Read more:  Thailand: https://lnkd.in/gmiZMHvQ Malaysia: https://lnkd.in/g366MEYa Singapore: https://lnkd.in/gW-hcNCw Italy: https://lnkd.in/eu-c_Gw3 Spain: https://lnkd.in/dXMJTNTk #travel #tourism #digitalpayments

OYO Ritesh Agarwal Can you please check what is happening with refund of booking AFCV9274. It was for 27th-28th May, Canceled on 21st May. Refund policy says before 24 hours it will be 100% refunded. It has been around 2 months with multiple follow ups. But refund is never provided. Sequence of Events: 1. Booking was canceled, and refund was put on hold. 2. On following up it was said it will take 14 days. 3. After 14 days when it was not provided, it was raised to grievance team, and it was said credit card refund failed it will be retried. 4. Again, after following up after few days it was informed second credit card refund also failed and it will be done through NEFT after collecting Account details. 5. Account details provided first on 20th June and still no refund. 6. Again, I got mail on 4th July for account details. 7. Now checking today, it says refund is rejected as per OYO policy. Ritesh Agarwal You seems a very nice guy on TV but looks like your company is growing by just cheating customers in the broad daylight.

#TravelSimplified Meaning: This hashtag embodies the essence of the partnership, emphasizing the goal of making travel planning easier and more accessible. It reflects the seamless user experience that EaseMyTrip and PhonePe aim to provide, streamlining the booking process for travelers. #OneStopTravelShop Meaning: Highlighting the comprehensive offerings of hotels, activities, and cabs on a single platform, this hashtag positions the partnership as a go-to solution for all travel needs. It conveys the convenience of booking every aspect of a trip from one place. #BestDealsOnTheGo Meaning: This hashtag underscores the unique access to top hotel deals and special offers that PhonePe users will enjoy. It captures the excitement of finding competitive pricing and exclusive offers while planning travel, appealing to budget-conscious travelers. #ExploreWithEase Meaning: This hashtag reflects the user-centric approach of EaseMyTrip in providing a flexible and enjoyable booking experience. It signifies the freedom and ease that travelers will experience when exploring domestic and international destinations. #FintechTravelRevolution Meaning: Emphasizing the collaboration between a travel tech company and a fintech giant, this hashtag highlights the innovative intersection of finance and travel. It showcases how technology is transforming the way people book and experience travel, signaling a new era in the industry. #SeamlessJourney Meaning: This hashtag captures the essence of a smooth travel experience from booking to exploring. It emphasizes the integration of services and the convenience of having everything in one platform, ensuring users can focus on enjoying their journey rather than navigating logistical challenges.

In a country where its PM claims to provide us with achhe din. Organizations like Alliance Air & Yatra Online Ltd. do the exact opposite. So, I booked an Alliance Air flight from Yatra Online Ltd. on the 3rd of April. It was supposed to fly on 19th April from DEL to UDAI.  However, I won't be able to take this flight due to the unfortunate demise of my maternal grandfather. Hence, I decided to either cancel or reschedule my flights.  My maternal grandfather left for a heavenly abode on 10th April 2024, and since then, I have been writing emails to both Yatra Online Ltd as well as Alliance Air for the cancellation of my reservations. They haven't been responding to emails regardless. I have barely got a robotic reply from them.  IS THIS HOW SOMEONE TREATS THEIR CUSTOMERS? PATHETIC! Anyway, on the flip side, the aggregator i.e., Cleartrip, Make My trip, etc, value their customers to the fullest. To put things into perspective, I connected to the Cleartrip support team two months back for a similar issue. They reimbursed more than 85% of the total amount. On the contrary, the Yatra Online Ltd team is not even ready to listen to me. As a matter of fact, they asked me to connect with the Alliance Air support team.  Does that even make any sense? If I order food from a restaurant on Zomato, would Zomato ever ask me to contact the restaurant directly to get a refund? Never!!!! Then I tried to connect to the Alliance Air team, and these people are charging 3900(3500 goes to Alliance & 400 goes to Yatra) per ticket as the cancelation charge. I spent 4000 per ticket. After deducting the cancelation charges, I'll be liable to get barely 100 rupees per ticket.  Are you for REAL?   Then, to prove the authenticity of the scenario occurring at my place, I wrote another email to both parties and attached the medical prescription & the uthala ceremony invite as well. However, these people still didn't bother to take the entailed action. I don't see myself or anybody around me using either Yatra Online Ltd or Alliance Air services ever again.  Trust me, I never brag about the wrong happenings on social media, but this was the test of my patience.    I'd highly encourage everybody to stay away from both the parties mentioned above.  Choose Yatra Online Ltd/Alliance Air or choose sanity!!!!! The call is yours!