Paytm was founded in 2010 as a prepaid mobile and direct-to-home television recharge platform. Within three years, the Indian company added debit card, postpaid mobile and landline bill payments to its portfolio of services, attracting a high-profile investment of USD 10m from Sapphire Ventures, one of the world’s most successful venture capital firms.
Over the next four years, Paytm would add its now ubiquitous Paytm Wallet, count Indian Railways and Uber as customers, and amass over 100 million users. By the time parent company One97 Communications went public in 2021, it had reached a valuation of USD 20bn, making it the biggest-ever IPO in India.
Today, Paytm is India’s largest ecommerce site, facilitating mobile payments for everything from utility bills to movie, travel and event tickets. The platform also facilitates peer-to-peer transfers domestically and internationally and offers a fast and secure way to purchase flights and insurance.
Through its wealth management arm, Paytm Money, Indian citizens can purchase stocks, contribute to pension schemes and invest in mutual funds digitally with 100% paperless verification.
Credited with spearheading India’s digital revolution, the company now boasts 20 million merchants and over 300 million users on its platform. With many more innovative financial solutions and products in the pipeline, Paytm aims to bring 500 million currently under-served Indians into the mainstream global economy.
At the same time, the company has expanded its reach overseas. In 2014, Paytm Labs was formed in Toronto, Canada, to provide a risk management model for fintechs and marketplaces with a high transaction value. Four years later, Paytm formed a joint venture with SoftBank and Yahoo Japan to launch PayPay, a QR-based payment service.
Paytm’s rapid expansion and growing customer base have seen it take record revenues in recent years, touching on USD 1bn in FY22/23.
