Paytm aims for profitability with 'compliance-first' approach: Vijay Shekhar Sharma at AGM

Paytm will try to achieve profitability soon, founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma said at the company’s 24th annual general meeting. While Sharma has been committed to turning Paytm towards the path of profitability for sometime now, he did not commit to any timeline during the meeting.

Sharma further said that the digital payments company will adhere to regulatory guidelines strictly, and adopt a ‘compliance-first approach’.

Paytm’s associate entity Paytm Payments Bank lost its ability to offer basic banking services to its customers on March 15, after the Reserve Bank of India highlighted major regulatory lapses in its compliance process earlier this year.


Sharma said that the company would like to apply for the payment aggregator licence, now that the requisite approvals from the Union government has come in. The central government cleared the foreign direct investment (FDI) into its merchant payments business in July, thereby making it eligible to apply for a payment aggregator licence.

Paytm is currently serving around 40 million merchants and has set a target of bringing 100 million small merchants within its network. It will target rickshaw drivers, plumbers and such offering them payment acceptance capabilities, the company said.

For its next round of growth, Paytm will build cross-selling capabilities around financial services like loans, mutual funds and insurance products.

While addressing the meeting, Madhur Deora, chief financial officer, Paytm said that the company has cash reserves of Rs 8,500 crore and with this war chest, Paytm would focus on building products and services for 500 million Indians bringing them into mainstream financial services.