How PayPal helps Canadian Nav Bhatia connect with loved ones in India?

CANADA: Technology has turned-around the life of Nav Bhatia, a Toronto-based Sikh entrepreneur who moved to Canada 30 years ago.

The entrepreneur tops up his relatives’ prepaid mobile phones, in a bid to frequently communicate with his family back home.

“People come first for me. Staying connected with my aunts, uncles and relatives in India is an essential part of my life,” says the basketball superfan. “In life, and in basketball – communication is the key to success. PayPal now offers me a way to top up my relatives’ prepaid mobile phones. Now, regardless of the distance, we can operate better as a team and feel closer as a family.”

To support this endeavour, PayPal has teamed up with TransferTo, a global airtime remittance provider, to offer mobile airtime top-up in Canada.

For this, the sender needs his PayPal account and the mobile number of the recipient to top up a prepaid mobile phone by using their smart phone, tablet or computer on www.paypal-mobiletopup.ca.

Without any transfer fees, Canadians can now use their PayPal account to instantly top up prepaid mobile phones of their relatives and friends in more than 100 countries including India.

“Mobile phones help connect people with their communities, and give them access to education, employment, and essential medical and financial services,” said Cameron Schmidt, General Manager, PayPal Canada.

“With today’s announcement, Canadians can extend a lifeline to their grandmother who needs to frequently call her doctor in Delhi or help their brother access the Internet from his mobile phone in Ludhiana,” he said.

According to Statistics Canada, a large number of Canadian immigrants are from India– a region that has heavy mobile phone usage. India is the third leading country of birth among people who immigrated to Canada between 2006 and 2011. There are 941 million mobile connections in India of which 95 per cent are prepaid. With PayPal and TransferTo’s new service, Indo-Canadians can top up prepaid phones of their family and friends that are registered with Indian mobile phone service providers.