Paytm – India’s most loved payments app started by Vijay Shekar Sharma in 2010. And it played a significant role in the digital revolution of India. And Paytm is also very well-known for its tagline, “Paytm Karo”. This is one of the most popular jingles played in India.
Paytm started with a mission to help customers get their recharges done, and now not only customers but it’s also one of the leading apps that helps merchants and businesses accept payments from customers.
Let’s explore how Paytm started,
How Paytm Started – Paytm Success Story
The story of Paytm is full of ups and downs. But before Vijay Shekhar Sharma started Paytm, he sold his first venture, indiasite.net, to a US-based company for 1 Million Dollars in just 2 years of its operation.
After getting an exit and then working for a while in the corporate world. He started One97 (Now Paytm’s Parent Company) and provided phone number details with SMS. After a lot of back-and-forth with this business. He found a big gap in the online financial transaction space.
And finally, he launched Paytm.com (Pay through mobile) on 8th July 2010. With this website, he also launched the Paytm App. This platform’s focus was to help customers do their mobile recharges, DTH recharges, bill payments, ticket bookings, etc.
With a lot of dedication and commitment, Vijay made Paytm one of the most lovable startup brands in India.
Paytm Features, Products and Services
Paytm started with a simple digital financial platform to help their users do mobile recharges, DTH recharges, and bus ticket bookings. Over time, it has become the most lovable payment app with so many services to make life easy for Indian consumers.
Let’s start with one of its revolutionised features, Paytm Wallet,
Paytm Wallet (2014)
Paytm wallet is the first digital wallet in India. You can use it to send and receive the money with your friends and family. And from 2015, they’ve added Bill Payments, Movie Tickets, and QR codes to receive and send payments.
Paytm Payment Bank (2017)
Paytm Payment Bank is another digital revolution by making banking simple and more accessible for everyone. With zero account opening fees or minimum balance requirements, consumers can easily open savings or current accounts. It also offered a “Paytm Payment Debit Card” with lots of similar benefits without any annual charges.
Paytm Gold (2017)
The same year, Paytm launched Paytm Gold. It allows users to buy and sell 24-karat digital gold safely. And the best part of it, you can start investing in digital gold for as low as Rs. 1.
Paytm Money (2017)
Paytm launched Paytm Money, which helps users to invest in mutual funds, stocks, IPOs, and even digital gold. With its easy-to-use interface with no extra fees, simple digital KYC, and a low-cost, commission-free model.w
Payment Gateway (2018)
Paytm payment gateway helps businesses accept payments online via websites, apps, or social media. It supported all payment modes like UPI, credit/debit cards, and net banking, making it simple for businesses to start collecting payments easily.
Paytm Mini Store (2020)
Paytm made life easier with its Mini App Store. It helps users to directly access popular Indian apps like Domino’s, McDonald’s, Ola, EatFit, and more directly within the Paytm app without needing to download any app individually.
Paytm Soundbox (2023)
Paytm Soundbox revolutionised offline payments. Their NFC card sound box made it possible for merchants to accept payments either through a card tap or an OR code scan. It also confirmed payment with sound and display, making it convenient and smooth for customers and merchants.
Paytm Funding Rounds
Paytm has raised a total funding of $3.48B over 16 rounds.
| Date | Round Name | Funding Amount | Investors |
| Feb 15, 2006 | Seed | $2.55M | |
| Mar 29, 2007 | Serious A | $8.3M | Elevation Capital, SVB |
| Dec 22, 2008 | Serious B | $9.85M | Intel, SVB |
| Sep 13, 2011 | Series C | $10M | Sapphire Ventures |
| Jan 20, 2015 | Series D | $75.1M | Alibaba Group, Elevation Capital |
| Mar 13, 2015 | Series D | $160K | RNT Associates |
| Apr 30, 2015 | Series D | $134M | Alibaba |
| 2015 | Conventional Debt | $2.34M | HDFC Bank |
| Sep 29, 2015 | Series E | $480M | Alibaba Group, Ant Group |
| Mar 12, 2016 | Conventional Debt | $44.6M | ICICI Bank |
| Aug 31, 2016 | Series F | $60M | MediaTek |
| May 18, 2017 | Series G | $1.4B | SoftBank Vision Fund |
| May 26, 2018 | Angel | $1.18M | Mark Schwartz, Neeraj Arora |
| Aug 27, 2018 | Series H | $298M | Berkshire Hathaway, Bh International Holdings |
| Nov 24, 2019 | Series I | $1B | Ant Group, Alibaba, and other investors |
| Nov 20, 2020 | Angel | $1.26M | Mark Schwartz |
Paytm Acquisitions
| Year | Company Name | Industry Type | Acquisition Amount |
| 2013 | Plustxt | Fast text messaging in Indian languages | Under $2 Million |
| 2016 | Shifu | Consumer behaviour prediction platform | Not Disclosed |
| 2016 | Near.in | Local service startup | Not Disclosed |
| 2017 | Insider.in | Online ticketing and events platform | $5.42 million |
| 2017 | Little | Restaurants deals platform | Not Disclosed |
| 2017 | Nearby.com | Hyper-local e-commerce company | Not Disclosed |
| 2018 | Cube26 | Technology startup | Not Disclosed |
| 2018 | TicketNew | Movie ticket booking platform | Around $40 million |
| 2018 | Balance | Savings management startup | $2 million |
| 2018 | WeavedIn | SaaS company specialising in retail technology and marketplaces | Not Disclosed |
| 2018 | Recruiter Grid | AI-powered talent acquisition platform | Not Disclosed |
| 2019 | Night Stay | Hotel booking platform | Not Disclosed |
| 2021 | Credit Mate | Digital lending company | Not Disclosed |
| 2024 | Bitsila | ONDC startup | Not Disclosed |
Paytm Business Model – How Paytm Earns?
Paytm operates on a multi-revenue business model. Paytm earns from a wide range of users, including individuals, merchants, and businesses.
Wallet Charges: Paytm charges a 3% fee when users transfer money from their Paytm Wallet to their bank accounts.
Service Commissions: A small commission is earned on services like movie tickets, event bookings, and bill payments.
Paytm Payments Bank: Revenue comes from service fees for transactions like UPI, fund transfers, and FASTag services.
Paytm’s diversified business model allows it to cater to different users while maintaining steady growth in the digital payments and financial services space.
Paytm Competitors
These are some of the major PayTM competitors
- PhonePe
- Freecharge
- MobiKwik
- Paypal
- Razorpay
More About Paytm
Paytm’s parent company, One97 Communications, was listed on the Indian Stock Exchanges on 18th November 2021. At that time, it was India’s largest-ever IPO.
As of March 2024, Paytm has 1.2 million activated cards in partnership with SBI Card, HDFC Bank, and Kotak Bank.
Paytm’s revenue grew 26% in just one year, from Rs 4390 crore in FY23 to Rs 6236 crore in FY24.
In August 2022, the Paytm Foundation teamed up with the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) to launch the Air Quality Action Forum (AQAF) to fight air pollution in India.
During the time of COVID-19, Paytm encouraged its users to donate to PM CARES FUND via their app. For every donation made, Paytm would send Rs 10 cashback to each user. This helped them colled Rs 100 crores in just 10 days.
In 2017, Paytm became the first payment app in India to cross 10 crore downloads.
Frequently Asked Questions of Paytm
1)- Who is the founder of Paytm?
Vijay Shekhar Sharma is the founder of Paytm.
2)- Is Paytm a Chinese company?
No, Paytm is not a Chinese company. It is an Indian multinational Fintech company founded in 2010 by Vijay Shekhar Sharma. Previously, one of its major investors was Ant Financial, which is affiliated with the Chinese company Alibaba Group, but they also sold their shares to Vijay Sharma in Aug 2023.
3)- What is Paytm UPI Lite?
Paytm UPI Lite is a simplified version of UPI for quick and small payments without needing a PIN. All you have to do is add funds up to a daily limit and use them for small purchases without entering your bank details each time.
4)- What is unique about Paytm?
Paytm is an all-in-one platform offering a wide range of services like digital payments, insurance, ticket booking, bill payments, mobile recharge, and more. The platform also provides in-house banking services through Paytm Payments Bank.
5)- What are Paytm’s First points?
Paytm First Points are basically reward points, also known as Paytm cashback points, that you earn when you make transactions through the Paytm app. You can redeem Paytm first points for OTT subscriptions, brand deals, gift vouchers and Paytm balance.
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