Madhur Deora, President at Paytm, a major digital payments company, says that there’s no doubt that India is a leading technology market.
Deora, whose comments came during a recent CNBC interview, states that it’s only natural that there will be a lot of competition from local Fintech firms. He thinks that Paytm is “quite fortunate” to operate in India, where it can compete with major global technology companies and businesses.
Deora noted:
“Payments, over the last six to seven years…actually mobile payments have come to the forefront of consumer offerings and [have led to major] innovations in consumer tech so people have come to realize that if we solve the payments problem, then there are many things we can do with respect to commerce…with respect to financial services.”
He added:
“I just happen to feel that with more than 50% share in merchant payments in India and all the layers we’re building on top of that…on the one hand Paytm is a ‘super app’ where there are many use cases [or solutions] available to consumers including those from Paytm [and] … third-parties. And also our [presence in] financial services [where] we’re fairly comfortable being a regulated entity … [so that] we can provide banking services, insurance services, wealth management services, and so on.”
He also mentioned:
“I believe that Paytm is so far ahead in the innovations that can be built on top of the payments layer that I feel super comfortable about where we are.”
As reported in July 2020, Paytm had been planning to offer additional financial services after acquiring OBE, an insurance business.
Paytm’s management had noted that the acquisition of Raheja QBE could potentially be a “significant step” towards assisting underserved Indian citizens.
India has become a leader in supporting digital payments adoption. The $2 to $3 trillion economy is projected to be ranked among the top 5 countries in the world in terms of GDP by 2030 (according to estimates from the World Economic Forum).
Indian businesses and consumers are increasingly using mobile phones to make payments, mainly via digital wallets. Many merchants in India have begun supporting QR code payments made with smartphones – which now appears to have become a standard in major Chinese cities such as Shenzhen and Shanghai.
India also has a wide range of standards for supporting its digital payments ecosystem including the United Payments Interface (UPI).
Earlier this year, Paytm said it hopes to become profitable in the coming years as it plans to develop a new business strategy.
Vijay Shekhar Sharma, the 41-year-old founder and CEO at Paytm, who leads One 97 Communications, had said that the company will be focusing on financial services as its next main area for growth and development.
Sharma had noted that Paytm’s business growth is divided into three major categories, with the first three years being spent on identifying the appropriate product-market fit. The next phase was revenue growth and monetization, while the final phase will focus on increasing profitability and opening up cash flows.