Several private players contribute to India’s Digital Payments ecosystem, offering a variety of services including mobile wallets, UPI payments, and QR code-based transactions. The DigiDhan Mission also aims to increase the number of digital transactions in India. Visa is a trusted leader in digital payments, and its digital Solutions equip people with the tools they need to create, manage and accept secure digital payments. As India continues its journey towards becoming a cashless society, Sujatha V Kumar remains at the forefront of VISA’s efforts to innovate, educate, and drive meaningful change in the digital payments landscape. Through strategic marketing initiatives and targeted campaigns, she endeavours to make digital payments more accessible, convenient, and secure for consumers across India and South Asia.
Sujatha V Kumar, the Head of Marketing (India and South Asia) at Visa, has a rich professional journey marked by her significant contributions to marketing and her significant role in promoting digital payments across India.
With over 25 years of experience in sales and marketing across esteemed companies like Procter & Gamble, Gillette, Nokia, The Royal Bank of Scotland, Coca-Cola, and Google, Sujatha brings a wealth of diverse experiences to her current position at VISA. Her expertise spans various marketing domains, including brand development, launch strategy, category management, retail strategy, consumer behaviour, client engagement, market research, and in-market implementation of programs.
During her tenure at Google as Head of Brand and Reputation, Marketing and Strategy, Sujatha spearheaded initiatives to make the Internet accessible to all Indians while contributing to skill development for the new economy. Her approach emphasised identifying unique opportunities, leveraging technology, and crafting compelling campaigns to amplify the impact of Google’s initiatives.
Before joining VISA, Sujatha held key positions at The Coca-Cola Company, where she played instrumental roles in shaping marketing strategies and enhancing corporate brand visibility. Her leadership and strategic insights have consistently propelled brands toward greater market penetration and consumer engagement.
Sujatha heads the marketing endeavors for VISA in India and the developing markets encompassing Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, and the Maldives. Recognising the transformative potential of digital payments, she champions initiatives to drive the adoption of cashless transactions across the region. Sujatha believes in the power of creativity and independence in marketing, enabling her team to respond quickly and adapt to evolving market dynamics.
In light of India’s transition towards a cashless economy, Sujatha underscores the pivotal role played by marketing in facilitating this shift, particularly during key junctures such as demonetization and the COVID-19 pandemic. The surge in digital payments during these periods underscored the importance of VISA’s marketing campaigns, which aimed to educate and empower consumers while reinforcing the benefits of cashless transactions.
Talking about the trend of India going cashless and how it impacted the brand’s marketing during demonetisation and the pandemic. Further, she explains their latest campaign fits into the derivative. As per Sujatha, The transition from cash to cashless gained momentum during the demonetization period but significantly accelerated during the pandemic. Cash transactions became nearly impractical, and people could not leave their homes for extended periods. Even for home deliveries, where cash on delivery was once common, social distancing measures made it unfeasible
Sujatha also highlights the security and safety aspects of online payments. She says, “What we’ve actually seen this year is that there are a number of people, almost everyone, who have moved to digital payment in some form or the other. They all find it very fast. They find it very convenient. But many fraudulent incidents are happening, like people losing money, phishing, etc. Hence, we thought this was a good time to focus on security and safety.”
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