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Mr. Vijay Bobba, CEO and Managing Director, PAYBACK Quick Jump
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Pooling loyalty benefits from many companies that address daily needs gives Payback a powerful edge over
traditional, stand-alone loyalty schemes restricted to one brand.
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Vijay Bobba, CEO and Managing Director, PAYBACK gathered more than twenty years of experience as a Silicon 15, 2017
Valley entrepreneur and consultant. Previous positions include Partner at strategy consultancy McKenna Group
and leadership positions in other companies at the cutting edge of their industries. In the year 2006, Vijay Bobba Telecom Newsletter September 11 to September
launched "i-mint". Under his leadership, merchant partner base and transaction volume grew manifold in less than 15, 2017
four years. In June 2010, PAYBACK took over the controlling stake in i-mint. One year after the purchase, the
successful integration concluded in the launch of PAYBACK, Vijay Bobba continues to lead the company as CEO Real Estate Newsletter September 11 to
and managing director. Vijay Bobba holds an MBA of the University of Californias prestigious Haas School of September 15, 2017
Business at Berkley. He is also an alumnus of the University of Georgia, Athens (USA) where he graduated with a
Masters in Applied Mathematics and Computer Science. He completed his bachelor in Electronics & Metals and Mining Newsletter September 11 to
September 15, 2017
Communications Engineering at the University of Madras in Chennai.
IT Newsletter September 11 to September 15,
PAYBACK is Indias largest loyalty program. It presents many advantages over traditional, 2017
stand-alone customer loyalty schemes restricted to one brand or company only. The power of
PAYBACK stems from pooling loyalty benefits from many attractive partners: Using one single Pharma Newsletter September 11 to September
card, members earn loyalty points when they shop at a wide range of different merchants and brands - offline and 15, 2017
online. Importantly, PAYBACK partners are mostly market leaders in consumer segments covering daily needs,
ranging from food to travel and entertainment. As a result, members are able to accumulate a large number of Banking Newsletter September 11 to September
points quickly. A coalition of strong partners united on the common PAYBACK platform also multiplies redemption 15, 2017
opportunities. The combination of rapid accumulation of points and their easy redemption for desirable rewards More
makes PAYBACK so attractive. Other benefits include discounts on purchases through points earned or through
coupons and exclusive special offers. Shoppers love these unrivalled features, because they simply get more
value for every rupee spent.

Replying to Anil Mascarenhas of IIFL, Vijay Bobba says, Pooling loyalty benefits from many companies that
address daily needs gives Payback a powerful edge over traditional, stand-alone loyalty schemes restricted to one
brand.

Walk us through the latest developments since Payback acquired i-mint in June 2010.
In a successful integration, we fused Paybacks international expertise with the local know-how built up in India
since 2006. The introduction of Paybacks proven tools and processes offers unprecedented advantages to our 10
million members and over 30 partner companies. We are launching innovative services that make our program
even more relevant to consumers and business partners. One example is the introduction of easy in-store
redemption: Payback enables customers to convert Payback points into shopping vouchers which can be used
like cash at the tills/checkout counters. Paybacks track record in boosting customer loyalty and increasing sales
attracts industry leaders: The milestone partnership we just concluded with the Future Group indicates the scale at
which we will soon be operating the program in India.

Did your role change?

As Payback Indias CEO and MD, I continue to lead the expansion of Indias first, largest and most sophisticated Result Express
coalition loyalty program. The scope of my work got bigger: Teaming up with all retail formats of the Future
Group is the best example. This adds 1,600 new points of sale to our pan-Indian network, doubling the size of the Sunil Hitech Engineers Ltd 18:11 IST, Sep 14
program. With strong Future Group brands like Pantaloon, Big Bazaar, Food Bazaar, eZone and Home Town
introducing Payback as their loyalty program, we get access to more than 200 million walk-in customers per year. Kamdhenu Ispat Ltd 14 Sep 2017

Explain to us your business model. Setco Automotive Ltd 14 Sep 2017

Partners pay us service and license fees for managing their customer loyalty programs and for our direct More
marketing services. Consumers benefit from discounts on purchases through points and coupons and from
personalized special offers. Pooling loyalty benefits from many companies that address daily needs gives
Payback a powerful edge over traditional, stand-alone loyalty schemes restricted to one brand: Our members IIFL View
accumulate a large number of points quickly and a coalition of strong partners offers them many attractive
redemption opportunities. Adlabs Entert.
Adlabs Entertainment develops and operates
What is the market size for consumer rewards programs in India? theme, water and snow parks and hotel Novotel. It
The potential is huge, especially for the multi-partner approach pioneered by Payback: We serve a wide range of derived 60% revenue from tickets, ...
sunrise sectors including retail, financial services, telecom, travel, entertainment. We enhance customer
acquisition and retention for category leaders in each segment, boosting their bottom lines. In return, partners give Reduce Reco. Price: 70.90
us a percentage of the turnover incentivized through Payback. So the size of our business and of our industry is
tied to Indias consumer economy, which enjoys strong, sustained growth. Disposable incomes rise, shopping CCL Products
trends evolve, consumers get exposed to many more brands a perfect Payback environment.
CCL Products (India) is one of the leading
manufacturers of instant coffee for private label
You pioneered Indias first coalition loyalty platform in 2006 with six merchant partners. What is the number
marketers. It derived 97% revenue ...
today and how do you see it growing?
We launched Payback India at the end of June with 30 partners, among them ICICI Bank, HPCL, Univercell, Air Accumulate Reco. Price: 310
India, and Megamart. Leading online players such as Makemytrip and BookmyShow also use our platform. In
addition, from September onward, Future Group will introduce Payback. Launch brands include fashion chain More
Pantaloon, Big Bazaar hypermarkets, Food Bazaar supermarkets, consumer electronics chain eZone, home
furnisher Home Town and Central malls. This doubles the number of partner outlets across India to 3000. We are
confident of adding more partners soon.

Who is your target customer?

Our target members reflect partners target groups: Typically, urban consumers aged between 18 and 55 years,
living in non-single households and belonging to a middle or higher income group. Internet and mobile usage is
beneficial. More or less, each person who does shopping and is spending money offline and online is a potential
Payback member.

What is your view on the retail sector in India? Do you think the latest developments on the FDI front will bring in
a sea change in the industry?
It is a great sunrise industry! The market is growing and maturing at the same time. With an estimated size of
US$350bn today, Indias retail industry has reached critical mass. Organized retail is growing at 35-40% a year and
gaining ground also in Tier-II and Tier-III cities.

Changes in FDI policy will bring in much needed investment which will help plug inefficiencies. This will help
Indian retail realize its full potential.

What are some of the changing trends in the rewards programme industry? How different is it in other
countries?
The core of loyalty programs is very stable. What continues to change is their use of technology. The rapid
advance of mobile applications is bound to bring in changes in the entire value chain: Location based services,
customer engagement through digital couponing, mobile customer account service and more. Payback is
spearheading this trend in India, benefitting from expertise gathered in the European markets.

Brief us on the financials of your company. What is the outlook? What is the latest shareholding pattern?
Payback India is a profitable, fast growing company. The revenues of the parent Loyalty Partner GmbH were 232
mio. EUR in 2010. Loyalty Partner holds the majority stake in Payback India. Peepul Capital is a co-investor,
holding a significant stake. ICICI Ventures, i-mints founding investor, retains a minority stake. Loyalty Partner is a
subsidiary of American Express.

Tell us about your employees, your recruitment sources, and the importance of B-Schools.
Payback is recognized as a technology and innovation leader in its field. Achieving and maintaining this
distinction requires talent. In India, we currently employ 135 experts in marketing, business development and
operations. We expect this number to rise along with our growth. Usually we hire people with at least 3 to 5 years
experience. In the future, we may also start recruiting Management Trainees from campuses.

You spent more than two decades in Silicon Valley. Please share some of your experiences there and tell us
about the difficulties of being an entrepreneur in India.
I have always specialized in bringing new technologies to market and in helping to create new markets. Pioneering
Indias first coalition loyalty program five years before any other player is the best example. With Payback, we now
have the resources and expertise to further cement our dominant leadership position.

Even today, India is still a nascent market for entrepreneurs. In Silicon Valley, an entire eco-system supports the
growth of a new company - lawyers, venture capitalists, experts from all fields. Everyone is used to a startup
culture and talented people prefer to work with startups. In India, talent still tends to get absorbed into larger,
established companies and fewer people take the risk to join or finance a new venture. I was lucky to find
visionary takers at ICICI Bank. Last but not least, because of Indias low price points, businesses require large
investments in order to bring them to critical scale. In short: You have to work much harder here to build a
business of the same size as in Silicon Valley. But India also rewards entrepreneurs with exceptional opportunities
for overcoming challenges.

You have assisted start-up companies in raising Venture Capital. What are Indian entrepreneurs lacking?
Compared to the US, they are more cautious to take risks in a true sense. What they really lack is access to an
elaborate eco-system assisting and mentoring them. It is evolving but still at an early stage.

Tags Vijay Bobba CEO and Managing Director PAYBACK

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