TIME Magazine has called Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma in 2017 TIME 100, as the publication’s yearly list of the 100 maximum influential people in the world. When a boy from small-town of India catapults himself into the association of world titans as well as becomes the poster boy of flexibility, hard work, and devotion, then it’s a story worth retelling. Read on to know further about the origin of the this Empire:
Vijay Shekhar Sharma – Founder
It all started, Vijay Shekhar Sharma, an incredibly talented student, paced into the world of entrepreneurship. He created his first company XS Communiqué as a college-based startup as well as constructed Content Management Systems which went on to be used through several significant publications counting The Indian Express. What was notable about this endeavor was that Sharma was a self-taught programmer. Therefore, began the pursuit of learning as well as innovation.
In the year 2000, Sharma started One97 Communications with a vision to build a strong digital business crossway various sectors. In 2010, the firm launched its leading brand Paytm with the aim of making an online recharge portal. It is a short form for Pay through Mobile. Its Wallet allows users to flawlessly pay utility bills (mobile, landline, electricity, broadband, water), ensure online recharges (mobile, DTH, metro), as well as even book movie tickets, train tickets, hotels flights, and so on.
In an interview by The Economic Times, Sharma said “We trust that everything that a consumer can purchase using the mobile phone will be a significant area for us. Digital goods O2O (offline to online) are excessive moats in that. We want to be a controlling force in travel, ticketing plus deals businesses.”
SoftBank invests $1.4b – its largest bet in India
The Indian government’s move in late 2016 to annul old high-value money notes and the consequent stress on digital payments augmented the investor interest in Paytm. In May 2017, Japan’s first Internet and telecom main Softbank invested $1.4 billion in Paytm. It was the most significant funding round through a single investor in India, creating Paytm the Japanese company’s most substantial bet in India’s start-up ecology. Beforehand, Chinese tycoon Jack Ma, the proprietor of Alibaba Group, bought a $500 million stake in Paytm in the year 2015.
Paytm Payments Bank- The novel age banking
Vijay Shekhar Sharma was one of 11 receivers of a payments bank license from Reserve Bank of India in August 2015.
Paytm Payments Bank is India’s first bank through zero fees on online dealings, no least balance, and free virtual debit card. Initially, the Paytm Payments Bank account will be accessible by invitation merely. However, users could request an invite by logging onto www.paytmpaymentsbank.com or over the Paytm app. Paytm Payments Bank, which nowadays houses the electronic wallet trade, plans to roll out numerous financial services products for example Insurance, Loans, Mutual Funds presented by our partner banks through the seamless Paytm experience.
The Paytm dream run through demonetization in India
When Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared the demonetization drive on November 8th, 2016 the whole state gasped plus went into a tizzy. However users universally huddled to salvage the state, mobile wallet firms for example Paytm, Mobikwik, plus FreeCharge witnessed an exponential development in business.
On the night of November 8th, there was a burst of actions at the Paytm headquarters. Paytm team was excited by the vast business chance and spent hours planning and making media campaigns to notify fellow Indians about the suitability of using Paytm. In a matter of few days, it was clear that Paytm was the forerunner in the space plus the most prominent sponsor. What are the Paytm USP? Excellence work is done by lightning speed. Not merely did Paytm quickly scale up its substructure to meet the developing demands but moreover accelerated the release of new features for customers as well as merchants who wanted to accept Paytm. Their approach included:
Launching Paytm Adjacent feature to aid users to find all the dealers nearby who accept Paytm. Around 5 million dealings were processed per day using this option.
Releasing the Paytm Android app in 10 local languages- Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Oriya Gujarati, Marathi, Bengali, Kannada, and Punjabi. This was a masterstroke as 80% of Indians desire Internet-based services in a local language.
Using a young plus dynamic team of around 4000 Paytm agents to quickly onboard users. Collectively they on-boarded over 35 lakh shopkeepers.
Paytm moreover rolled out com/business, creating it more comfortable for merchants toward accepting Paytm payments. All they essential was a mobile number plus the Paytm app.
When “Paytm Karo” became a way of life
As Paytm extended its reach to lots of Indians, users crosswise the country started posting images and videos on social media around their Paytm experience. Even majority media began reporting on how clienteles and merchants were profiting from the platform. Shopkeepers, vegetable sellers, petrol pumps, auto rickshaws, and even tea stalls included Paytm during the money deficit days. No surprise then that the Paytm site traffic augmented by 435%, app downloads raised 200%, and there was 250% rise in general transactions and deal value post demonetization. Paytm Karo (use paytm) was not just a buzzword any longer, however a way of life.
THE MYRIAD OF FEATURE
Here are some of the maximum used and valuable features that you can make usage of:
Paytm Wallet: The cash in your Paytm Wallet can be used for the numerous online plus offline transactions. You can usage your Paytm wallet on other websites as well. The Passbook displays the wallet balance plus shows a snapshot of all dealings performed to date. Using the Pay/ Scan option you can transfer cash promptly at zero cost to anybody with a smartphone as well as the Paytm app. All you require to do is scan the receiver’s QR code or enter their mobile number in the Pay choice inside the app.
Tap the Nearby choice to see a list of adjoining places that receive Paytm payments.
If you have a Paytm coupon, you can redeem it by ingoing the Promotion Code on the website.
Mobile Recharge as well as Bill payments: Using Paytm you can flawlessly pay your utility bills (mobile, power, landline, broadband, water) as well as online recharges (mobile, DTH, metro). You could even book film tickets, flights, train tickets, enjoyment parks, hotels, occasions, cars, and bikes! In the case of refunds, cash will be accredited to your wallet promptly.
Shopping: Paytm is not just an e-recharge mercantile but also a complete e-commerce site which offers a wide diversity of products to select from. Fashion, personal care, footwear, sports and healthcare products, books as well as kids section, electronics, home plus kitchen appliances are some of the maximum fashionable categories. You can even purchase and store gold using the Digital Gold choice on Paytm.
Paytm’s exclusive deals and offers make it a brilliant shopping hub for online shoppers. Here are some of the current elite Paytm deals:
- Enjoy zero flight cancellation handling fee on Paytm
- Save upto10000 on buying of mobile phones
- 5% cash back on first buying of digital Gold
Food Wallet:
Paytm offers an exclusive feature for firms to roll out Tax-free food allowance to employees. Employers can promptly transfer cash to food wallets of staffs based anyplace in the country without any annoyances of procuring, handling plus distributing bulky vouchers and cards. The Food Wallet balance is shown in the Passbook.
Sell on Paytm: You can now join the club of thousands of dealers who sell their products on the most significant e-commerce platform. It is rapid and easy. All you require to do is sign up as well as get started on the combined dashboard. You can convert a seller in a jiffy!
Paytm is rising at a very fast speed
It declared the new “App Password” for the Android application. It permits the user to be safe their account even afterward the phone gets stolen. Furthermore, this features permits users to lock their app using a PIN otherwise a password. Vijay sold 1% of his shares for Rs. 325 crore in One97. In fact, this cash will help in setting up of Paytm payments bank.
Conclusion
Paytm is on a mission to drive fiscal inclusion as well as to construct India’s first $100 billion firms. It is a firm with its heart in the correct place and working toward the goal of providing financial services to 100s of millions of unserved as well as under-served Indians. Vijay Shekhar Sharma has verified to be not just an accountable citizen but also an ace businessperson who is leading the business from strength to strength.
With so much going for it, company featured in LinkedIn’s 2017 list of Top Firms to work for. As the firm continues to grow in stature, it is moreover expanding its footprint inside and outside India. It has launched bill payment service in Canada plus has a 55-member group working from the Toronto office. In the meantime, the company began its third office in Bangalore plus several new local offices in India with Vishakhapatnam and Kanpur being two of the larger ones.
How does Paytm actually earn its revenue?