Abstract

The National Spot Exchange Limited (NSEL) was launched to provide a nationwide platform for sellers (Farmers) and Buyers (Consumers and Traders) of agriculture commodities to transact and realize an efficient price in a very fragmented and widely disbursed market. But, with the unearthing of a scam involving millions of dollars, this effort of connecting various local markets to enable efficient price discovery benefitting millions of farmers went in vain. The case covers the objectives and evolution of NSEL, the regulatory environment on spot exchanges in India and provides a discussion point on the reasons for the failure of NSEL.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• To understand the need for innovation in the financial payments sector
• To discuss the methods to be undertaken to push for the adoption of a new technology
• To recognize the challenges faced by startups in mature and highly competitive industries

Keywords

Square Reader, Paypal, Pay with Square, Financial Payments, Financial Innovation, Entrepreneurship, Square Wallet, Mobile Application, Credit Card Processing, Payment Aggregator, Square Register, Square Market, Square Stand, Square Cash, NFC (Near Field Communication)