Ticketing portal BookMyShow, which has become India’s go-to platform for booking tickets online, is now planning to offer them on credit for its users. Ashish Hemrajani, co founder of BookMyShow, revealed the company’s plans at Connect 2016, a global app developers conference organised by Cheetah Mobile in Beijing.
Speaking to IndianExpress.com, Ashish said users will be allowed to book tickets and pay back the amount within 30 days. The number of tickets a user can purchase will be capped and they won’t be allowed to buy more without clearing their outstanding amount. According to Ashish, BookMyshow has set a timeline of 30-60 days to roll out the option. It will be first tested in one of the states before expanding the service across the country.
Asked why a user would prefer to delay paying an amount as small as Rs 200 for a film ticket, Ashish said that most Indians are reluctant to pay through cards. “My car driver earns a decent income, but he doesn’t have a credit card. Our option would allow him to purchase tickets and payback within 30 days at any of the theaters,” said Ashish.
The portal is currently building its own algorithm to analyse the “trust worthiness” of the user before extending them credit. The user’s “credit score” will be calculated based on their social connections; their friends, followers on social networks such as Facebook and Twitter will be mapped to get an idea of their preferences and interests.
The company’s willingness to gamble could be put down to the small risk involved considering that most tickets are not very expensive. The option to payback later would certainly be a hit among college students who might be short on cash towards the end of the month.
This move could help BookMyShow increase its number of transactions in India where only 20 million of its population have credits cards. Currently 70% of BookMyShow transactions are on mobile and they claim to have 9 million mobile active users.
BookMyShow has been on the lookout to expand their reach, especially in the sports segment, and has recently acquired Chennai-based startup Fantain to get an idea of fan insights and engagement. Ashish said the company has no plans of moving to the Chinese market, but has big plans for south-east Asia, New Zealand and Dubai.
Source: financialexpress.com
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