18 May 2017, India : Indian digital payments platform, Paytm, has raised $1.4B (over Rs 9,079 crore) from Japanese conglomerate SoftBank. Paytm will use the funding to grow its user base, expand its soon-to-be launched payments bank operations and introduce more financial products.
Paytm plans to invest over 10,00o crore INR over the next 3 to 5 years to enable 0.5 billion Indians to join the mainstream economy.
Paytm is operated by One97 Communications and is led by CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma. Vijay Shekhar Sharma commented about the investment, “This investment by Softbank and support of the incredible entrepreneur Masa Son is a great endorsement of our team’s execution and vision.”
“In line with the Indian government’s vision to promote digital inclusion, we are committed to transforming the lives of hundreds of millions of Indian consumers and merchants by providing them digital access to a broad array of financial services, including mobile payments,” SoftBank Group Chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son said.