India is a budding economic powerhouse with 1.4 billion people, annual GDP of $4.1 trillion and, according to the IMF, an expected 6.5% growth rate. Paytm is a popular Indian payments app for consumers, with a BNPL option for everyday purchases, including telephony minutes, bill payment, PoS transactions and remittance. The Royal Bank of India (RBI) demonetized (withdrawn from circulation) large cash bills in 2017 in the hopes of encouraging more consumers to use its (relatively) new electronic payment infrastructure. Today, Paytm boasts 400 million users, generating over $1 billion in revenue per annum, of which 70% is payments related. Regulatory challenges, emerging competition and concerns over their other two divisions, financial and marketing services, respectively, have caused shares to swoon. Nonetheless, in our opinion, favorable market position in a growth economy suggests this company can not be ignored.
Wayne Johnson III, Executive Advisor, Wellesley Hills Financial, Managing Member, Payment Chain Consulting
