Money Matters

In recent years, digital payments have become a popular mode of transacting — to pay bills, shop or order food. It is also becoming commonplace to see people tapping their phones at the neighborhood tea stall to pay for their cutting chai. The credit goes to all the fintech companies that have brought several e-wallets to the smartphone that is only getting cheaper, complemented by rapidly falling prices of data. But beyond making transactions simpler, quicker and convenient, digital payments are transforming the lives of people — an emotional impact that cannot be measured. That is the thought behind Google’s new campaign for Google Pay – Ek simple si payment kuch bada kar jaati hai (A simple payment can do something big).

Under this campaign, Google Pay, which enables direct bank-to-bank payments, has launched a film showcasing an assortment of inspiring journeys, stories that began with a simple payment. These include Chhavi Rajawat, sarpanch of Soda village in Rajasthan, who paid Rs 200 to contest the election; Satender Singh, who overcame his blindness to clear the UPSC exam by filling a Rs 20 form; and Poorna Malavath, who saved her pocket money to buy sports shoes and became the youngest girl in the world to scale the Mt Everest.

While payments are usually viewed as cold and transactional, Sapna Chadha, director of marketing, Southeast Asia and India, Google, points out that the impact is actually more deep and personal. “This campaign takes our perspective on money beyond the transactional, towards understanding how it can move our lives forward in profound ways, thus helping us establish a higher brand purpose. The inspiring truth in the value of intent over value of the amount is what’s most appealing,” she adds.

The main film is accompanied by shorter ones, which also revolve around the theme of meaningful payments. For instance, in one film, a granddaughter rediscovers her lost childhood memories and stops the sale of her ancestral home by immediately transferring back the token amount she had taken. In another, a son recharges his phone and calls his father to tell him about his decision to quit engineering, a conversation that explores the deep connection between the duo.

“It’s not about the size of the payment, but the impact. In both films, the payment was a facilitator to let the protagonist find something larger, more meaningful,” says Janmenjoy Mohanty, regional creative officer, Lowe Lintas, adding that the objective was to “touch hearts”. And by giving an emotional, nostalgic and inspirational dimension to transactions, Google Pay has done just that.