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Paytm

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Not to be confused with Paym.

Paytm
Type of businessPrivate
Founded2010
HeadquartersNoida, Uttar Pradesh,India
Founder(s)Vijay Shekhar Sharma
Key peopleVijay Shekhar Sharma (Founder & CEO)
IndustryInternet
ServicesOnline shopping, payment systems, digital wallets
Revenue₹814 crore (US$98 million) (FY 2017)[1]
ParentOne97 Communications Ltd .
URLpaytm.com

Paytm is an Indian e-commerce payment system and digital wallet company. It was founded by Vijay Shekhar Sharma in August 2010 and is based out of Delhi NCR, India. Paytm is available in 10 regional languages and offers online use-cases like mobile recharges, utility bill payments, travel, movies, and events bookings as well as in-store payments at grocery stores, fruits and vegetable shops, restaurants, parking, tolls, pharmacies and education institutions with the Paytm QR code.[2] As of January 2018, Paytm is valued at $10 billion.[3]

Today over 7 million merchants across India use this QR code to accept payments directly into their bank account at 0% fee.[4] The company has also launched the ‘Paytm for Business’ app in over 10 regional languages, allowing these merchants to track their payments and day-to-day settlements conveniently.[5]

In August 2015, the Reserve Bank of India granted 'in-principle' approval for Payments Bank to Paytm.[6] In 2017, the company launched the Paytm Payments Bank with the aim to bring banking and financial services access to half-a-billion un-served and under-served Indians.[7]

The same year, Paytm launched an app for Canadian mobile phone, cable, Internet, electricity and water bill payments.[8] In 2018, it set up Paytm Money to build investment and wealth management offerings for its users. This business will bring direct mutual funds and money-market funds to the Indian masses.[9][10]

History

File:Vijay-Shekhar-Sharma.jpg
Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma

Paytm was founded in August 2010 with an initial investment of $2 million by its founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma. It started off as a prepaid mobile and DTH recharge platform, and later added data card, postpaid mobile and landline bill payments in 2013.[11]

By January 2014, the company launched the Paytm Wallet, and the Indian Railways and Uber added it as a payment option.[12] It launched into mobile commerce with online deals and bus ticketing. In 2015, it unveiled more use-cases like education fees, metro recharges, electricity, gas, and water bill payments. It also started powering the payment gateway for Indian Railways.[13]

In 2016, Paytm launched movies, events and amusement parks ticketing[14] as well as flight ticket bookings and Paytm QR.[15] Later that year, it launched rail bookings[16] and gift cards.

Paytm's registered user base grew from 11.8 million in August 2014 to 104 million in August 2015. Its travel business crossed $500 million in annualised GMV run rate, while booking 2 million tickets per month.[17]

In 2017, Paytm became India's first payment app to cross over 100 million app downloads.[18] The same year, it launched Paytm Gold,[19] a product that allowed users to buy as little as ₹1 of pure gold online. It also launched the Paytm Payments Bank[7][20] and ‘Inbox’, a messaging platform with in-chat payments among other products.[21] By 2018, it started allowing merchants to accept Paytm, UPI and Card payments directly into their bank accounts at 0% charge.[22][23] It also launched the ‘Paytm for Business’ app, allowing merchants to track their payments and day-to-day settlements instantly.[5] This led its merchant base to grow to more than 7 million by March 2018.

The company launched two new wealth management products - Paytm Gold Savings Plan and Gold Gifting to simplify long-term savings.[24][25] It launched into gaming and investments, partnering with AGTech to launch a mobile games platform Gamepind,[26] and setting up Paytm Money[9][27] to bring investment and wealth management products for the Indian masses.

Funding

In 2007, Paytm’s parent One97 Communications Ltd. got its first institutional investor, venture capital firm SAIF Partners.

In March 2015, Paytm received its funding from Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba Group, after Ant Financial Services Group, an Alibaba Group affiliate, took 25% stake in One97 as part of a strategic agreement.[28]

In August 2016, Paytm raised funding from Mountain Capital, one of Taiwan-based MediaTek's investment funds at a valuation of over $5 billion.[29]

In May 2017, Paytm received its biggest round of funding by a single investor – SoftBank, bringing the company’s valuation to an estimated $10 billion.[30]

Investments and acquisitions

In 2015, Paytm invested $5 million in auto-rickshaw aggregator and hyperlocal delivery firm Jugnoo.[31] The funds were meant to enable Jugnoo to scale up its operations across the country, and improve its driver efficiency. It also acquired Delhi-based consumer behaviour prediction platform Shifu[32] and local services startup Near.in.[33]

In 2016, Paytm invested in logistics startups LogiNext[34] and XpressBees.

In April 2017, Paytm invested in healthcare startup QorQL[35] which uses artificial intelligence (AI) and big data to help doctors improve their productivity and quality of care, and enable patients to manage their health better. In July 2017, it acquired a majority stake in online ticketing and events platform Insider.in,[36] backed by event management company Only Much Louder (OML) and mobile loyalty startup MobiQuest. The same year, Paytm acquired Little & Nearbuy, and merged both.[37]

Marketing

In July 2015, One97 Communications, the firm that owns the brand Paytm, acquired the title sponsorship rights for India's domestic and international cricket matches at home for a period of four years starting in August 2015.[38] The rights include sponsor branding of series with the title sponsor logo, designation as the title sponsor of the series, visibility at the stadium, and broadcast sponsorship rights. This also includes all BCCI domestic (Ranji Trophy, Duleep Trophy etc.) matches in India.

Previously, Paytm had acquired sponsorship rights during the 8th season of Indian Premier League. It has also served as an associate sponsor on Sony TV network (which has the telecast rights for IPL) and was the official partner of the IPL team Mumbai Indians. In March 2018, Paytm became the Umpire Partner of the IPL for five years.[39]

Paytm Payments Bank

In August 2015, Paytm received a license from Reserve Bank of India to launch a payments bank.[6] The Paytm Payments Bank is a separate entity in which founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma will hold 51% share, One97 Communications holds 39% and 10% will be held by a subsidiary of One97 and Sharma. The bank was officially inaugurated in November 2017 by the Indian Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley.[7] The inauguration ceremony featured prominent banking personalities including former RBI Executive Director PV Bhaskar, Saama Capital Director Ash Lilani and former Shriram Group Director GS Sundarajan. Vijay Shekhar Sharma and Renu Satti (CEO – Paytm Payments Bank) are the other directors of Paytm Payments Bank.

In January 2018, Paytm Payments Bank partnered with IndusInd Bank to offer a super-liquid, linked fixed deposit with up to 6.85% annual interest.[40] It is set to launch over 100,000 banking outlets across India by end of 2018.[41]

Awards and recognition

  • Diamond SABRE Award in Company of the Year at SABRE Awards 2017[42]
  • Diamond SABRE Award in Superior Achievement In Reputation Management at SABRE Awards 2017[42]
  • Gold SABRE Award in Financial Professional Services at SABRE Awards 2017[42]
  • Best Digital Wallet award at the 11th IAMAI India Digital Summit[43]
  • Best Consumer Mobile Service award at the 11th IAMAI India Digital Summit[43]
  • ET Brand Equity Most Trusted Brand of the Year 2016
  • FT Future of Fintech Award in 2016[44]
  • Outstanding Startup of the Year Award at Forbes Leadership Awards 2016[45]
  • Mobile Wallet Provider of the Year award in the B2C category at the Frost & Sullivan Awards Ceremony
  • ET Telecom Game Changer of the Year Award, 2015
  • Gold in Mobility Solutions Category and Silver in E-commerce category at the 2015 Express IT Awards
  • Gold in E-commerce at the 2015 Indian Marketing Awards
  • Disruptive Digital Innovator Award at NDTV Digitzing India Awards
  • Most Innovative Company of the Year 2014 Award at Business Standard Awards
  • Best Digital Wallet Award at IAMAI’ India Digital Awards in Delhi on 15 January 2015
  • Paytm recognized as the ‘Most Innovative Startup of the Year’ at the 2012 Entrepreneur India event by Franchise India[46]

References

  1. ^ Paytm revenue stood at Rs 814 crore in FY17
  2. ^ "Paytm promotes SVP Kiran Vasireddy to the position of COO". The Economic Times. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  3. ^ "Paytm valuation pegged at $10 billion after secondary share sale", Live Mint, January 2018
  4. ^ Bhakta, Pratik (20 March 2018). "Paytm transactions reportedly grew four-fold to $20 billion in February". The Economic Times. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  5. ^ a b www.ETtech.com. "Paytm launches business app on Android for its merchants - ETtech". ETtech.com. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  6. ^ a b "Paytm Along With 10 Others Receive License From RBI To Set Up Payments Banks - Inc42 Media". Inc42 Media. 19 August 2015. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  7. ^ a b c "Arun Jaitley launches Paytm Payments Bank". @businessline. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  8. ^ Ganguly, Payal (17 March 2017). "Paytm launches its digital wallet play in Canada". The Economic Times. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  9. ^ a b Choudhury, Karan (13 March 2018). "Paytm to launch mutual funds, insurance, banking services via payments bank". Business Standard India. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  10. ^ "Paytm appoints Amit Sinha as COO of commerce biz". The Times of India. 12 June 2017. Retrieved 12 October 2017.
  11. ^ "The inspiring journey of Paytm Founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma". Paytm Blog. 11 March 2017. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  12. ^ "Paytm's big day: railway ticketing platform IRCTC adds Paytm wallet as a payment option". Techcircle. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  13. ^ "Paytm is now powering IRCTC's Payment Gateway". The Financial Express. 16 September 2016. Retrieved 7 April 2018. {{cite news}}: no-break space character in |title= at position 38 (help)
  14. ^ Reporter, B. S. (22 March 2016). "Paytm enters online movie ticketing". Business Standard India. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  15. ^ Sahay, Priyanka (14 October 2015). "Paytm launches QR code payment option for wallet app". livemint.com. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  16. ^ "Now You Can Book Train Tickets Using Paytm". NDTV Gadgets360.com. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  17. ^ Chaturvedi, Anumeha (24 August 2017). "Paytm bets on local travel boom, eyes 3-fold business growth". The Economic Times. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  18. ^ Staff (27 December 2017). "Paytm exceeds 100 million downloads on Google Play Store". BGR India. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  19. ^ "Buy, sell gold instantly on Paytm". @businessline. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  20. ^ "Paytm Payments Bank Officially Launched; CEO Outlines Growth Path". NDTV Gadgets360.com. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  21. ^ "Paytm launches 'Inbox' messaging platform with ability to send or request money and share multimedia messages- Technology News, Firstpost". Tech2. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  22. ^ Paytm (4 December 2017). "Now, existing & new Merchants can accept Paytm, UPI & Card payments directly into their Bank…". Paytm Blog. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  23. ^ "Paytm QR now allows merchants to accept Paytm, UPI and Card payments directly into bank account at 0% charge | TMS News". TMS News. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  24. ^ "Savings are now simpler — Introducing Gold Savings Plan & Gold Gifting". Paytm Blog. 15 March 2018. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  25. ^ India, Press Trust of (15 March 2018). "Paytm launches two new services under wealth management offering". Business Standard India. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  26. ^ www.ETtech.com. "Paytm, AGTech launch mobile gaming platform Gamepind - ETtech". ETtech.com. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  27. ^ "We have set up Paytm Money to focus on Investment and Wealth Management". Paytm Blog. 10 January 2018. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  28. ^ "Alibaba enters India's e-commerce space with 25% stake in Paytm owner One97". Paytm Blog. 18 March 2015. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  29. ^ ANI (31 August 2016). "Paytm receives investment from Mountain Capital". Business Standard India. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  30. ^ Chanchani, Madhav; Variyar, Mugdha (19 May 2017). "Paytm raises $1.4 billion from Softbank, valuation jumps to over $8 billion". The Economic Times. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  31. ^ Poovanna, Sharan (18 April 2016). "Jugnoo raises $10 million in funding round led by Paytm". livemint.com. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  32. ^ "Paytm Acquires Personal Assistant App Shifu To Improve Its Artificial Intelligence Tech – TechCrunch". techcrunch.com. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  33. ^ Gooptu, Biswarup (7 December 2015). "Paytm acquires Near.in to strengthen its presence in online-to-offline space". The Economic Times. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  34. ^ "Paytm to replicate Alibaba's logistics strategy with LogiNext". @businessline. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  35. ^ "Paytm Backs AI And Big Data Driven Healthtech Startup QorQL - Inc42 Media". Inc42 Media. 7 April 2017. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  36. ^ www.ETtech.com. "Paytm acquires majority stake in online ticketing platform Insider.in for around Rs 35 cr - ETtech". ETtech.com. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  37. ^ "Nearbuy and Little merge to create India's largest discovery and deals platform for local…". Paytm Blog. 6 December 2017. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  38. ^ Malvania, Urvi (31 July 2015). "Paytm bags 4-yr BCCI title sponsorship for Rs 203 cr". Business Standard India. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  39. ^ "BCCI Announces Paytm as Official Umpire Partner for IPL". News18. 12 March 2018. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  40. ^ "Paytm Payments Bank Partners With IndusInd Bank To Offer Fixed Deposit Facilities". Inc42 Media. 8 January 2018. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  41. ^ "Paytm Payments Bank to open 100,000 Paytm Ka ATM outlets, set to invest Rs 3,000 cr". The Financial Express. 5 December 2017. Retrieved 7 April 2018. {{cite news}}: no-break space character in |title= at position 81 (help)
  42. ^ a b c "2017 SABRE Asia-Pacific Winners". www.holmesreport.com. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  43. ^ a b "IAMAI names Interactive Avenues Best Digital Agency of the Year for the 4th time". www.bestmediaifo.com. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  44. ^ "Financial Times announces winners of inaugural Future of Fintech Awards". aboutus.ft.com. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  45. ^ "Winners: Forbes India Leadership Awards 2016 | Forbes India". Forbes India. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  46. ^ https://paytm.com/about-us/
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