Paytm looks to hit 12 billion transactions by end of FY20

Digital payments company Paytm on Wednesday said it is looking to more than double its transaction volume to 12 billion by end of 2019-20, from 5.5 billion in 2018-19. Paytm clocked 2.5 billion transactions in 2017-18.

Paytm said it achieved gross transaction value (GTV) of $50 billion in 2018-19, as compared with $25 billion a year ago. GTV is the value of total transactions done on the platform.

“This increase is a result of the rapid growth in the adoption of Paytm’s digital payments solutions across online and offline for multiple use cases including retail payments, fees, utility payments, travel booking, entertainment, games and more,” the company said in a statement.

Its subscription-based programme Paytm First that was launched in March has attracted half a million subscribers, the company said.

“Digital payment players are focusing on expanding both the offline merchant base as well as use cases like transportation and telecom. In some cases, adjacent industries like food delivery and entertainment are creating digital payments demand pull,” said Vivek Belgavi, partner at PwC India.

Paytm has 350 million registered users as of 5 June, a company official said.

Paytm offers an array of payment options, which includes payment via mobile wallets, as well as real-time payment system Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and internet banking.

“The company has been focused on building tools for merchants to simplify their day to day business needs. This has resulted in large merchants’ acquisition who are well equipped with new technology to accept all payment modes (cards, wallet, and UPI),” the statement said.

Paytm now plans to focus on adopting artificial intelligence and improving the user interface.

“We are focused on developing tech-driven solutions, integrated customer life cycle management, enhancing user experience and expanding to tier 4-5 cities. We are confident to achieve 12 billion transactions by the end of this financial year,” said Deepak Abbot, senior vice-president at Paytm.