India Post has sent a notice to digital wallet firm Paytm, asking it to desist from using the term ‘postcard’ for one of its recently launched products, a Paytm official told VCCircle.
The wallet firm had launched Paytm Postcards, a digital version of gifting money on festive occasions, during Raksha Bandhan earlier this month. At the time of the rollout, a company statement said, "The country’s gifting industry is pegged at $40-42 billion, with several players reporting 20-40% annual growth. Paytm wants to establish itself in personal gifting by offering Paytm Postcards."
In the notice, addressed to Paytm founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma, India Post said it had the sole right to use the word 'postcard' under the The Indian Post Office Act and, therefore, the digital wallet must stop using the term with immediate effect.
The Times of India was the first to report the development.
The official quoted above, who did not wish to be named, said Paytm was not contesting anything. However, it was not immediately clear as to what the company's immediate move would be, and whether if would rename the feature or remove it from the app altogether.
Paytm's key backer Alibaba has a similar offering in China, but the gifting product was made popular by social media and instant messaging app WeChat, developed by Tencent.
Last December, global payments company PayPal had filed a trademark infringement case against Paytm.
