
Episode Summary:
Tap, beep, done. Australia’s payment experience is one of the world’s most convenient, but also one of the most expensive. Small businesses lose thousands a month in card and scheme fees, while everyday Australians pay hundreds each year just to access their own money.
In this episode of Pick My Brain, Gaurav Rana, co-founder of GANI Pay, joins Alan Jones to pitch his mobile-first payment platform designed to bypass the legacy card system entirely. GANI Pay uses NPP, PayID, and PayTo to enable instant, secure QR payments, with flat monthly fees for merchants and cash-back rewards for consumers.
Alan and Gaurav dig into the economics of “tap and go,” how to convince both merchants and customers to switch, and why regulatory trust is just as important as slick tech in fintech. They also explore GANI Pay’s go-to-market focus on high-volume, low-ticket retailers, and what it takes to turn a payment product into a movement.
If you’re building in fintech, payments, or tackling an entrenched incumbent, this is a masterclass in pitching, positioning, and finding your wedge.
Episode Sponsors:
Chapters:
01:40 – What is GANI Pay? Mobile-first QR payments without the card fees
03:00 – Gaurav’s early ambitions: from science to entrepreneurship
04:15 – The problem: why tap payments quietly cost Australians billions
06:10 – How GANI Pay works: bypassing Visa/Mastercard with NPP & PayTo
08:20 – Merchants’ biggest question: will customers adopt it?
09:50 – Building trust: compliance, security, and banking partnerships
12:15 – Go-to-market: targeting high-volume, sub-$100 transactions
14:30 – Competing with Afterpay & co: different problem, different value
15:55 – Alan on finding the most promising merchant verticals
17:40 – Fundraising plans: seeking $600k to scale tech & marketing
18:35 – How to become an “investable” fintech in 60 days
20:45 – Movement vs product: can GANI Pay spark a payments revolution?
Resources:
🙋🏻♂️ Gaurav Rana – https://www.linkedin.com/in/gauravrana841/
💰 GaniPay – https://ganipay.com.au/