Mumbai, Nov 8 (IANS): Global digital payments major PayPal on Wednesday announced its India operations, after offering cross-border payments in the country for close to a decade, the company said.

In a statement issued here PayPal Holdings, Inc, said: "At launch, Indian consumers can use PayPal to shop online at some of India's most popular businesses.

"Merchants offering PayPal will be able to process both local and global payments through PayPal, getting access to PayPal's 218 million customers around the world and in India through a single integration."

"PayPal has been offering cross-border payments in India for close to a decade enabling SMEs and freelancers to leverage the global opportunity," the company said.

The Indian government's recent push towards digital payments has also led PayPal to partner with government and state-owned banks on number of initiatives, including digital financial literacy programme and eTourist Visa (eTV), the company said.

"We will be targeting the Global Indian and have partnered with merchants catering to this segment giving them a truly global seamless payments experience.

"India is transitioning away from our biggest competitor - cash - and our digital platform and technology has immense scope to enable this at scale. For us, the marathon has just begun," Anupam Pahuja, Country Manager and Managing Director, PayPal India was quoted as saying in the statement.

"India's digital payments journey is on a high growth trajectory and we are proud to be a part of it. We are excited about our prospects in a market that is highly inspirational and aspirational," Rohan Mahadevan, CEO PayPal Private Limited and SVP, General Manager, APAC was quoted as saying in the statement.