Paytm, CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma is strategizing an important overhaul of its online wealth management services. The company is planning to increase its workforce by 50, 000 plus salespeople. This decision is being taken primarily to increase its merchant base and to achieve profitability at a fast pace.
However, amid concerns over the uneven market performance that led to a decline in around 70% of Post Company’s $2.5 billion IPO in 2021, Paytm is planning to revitalize its position in the startup arena in India.
Vijay Shekhar Sharma is managing this transformation and envisioning a better suite of financial products to touch on the rising trend of online investment, which is famous among young users.
The planning of Paytm
The concerted effort is about augmenting the Salesforce of the company by more than 60% to onboard merchants in smaller cities and towns in India. Vijay Sharma believes that this dual approach, which mainly focuses on wealth management and merchant acquisitions, along with leveraging AI automation for cost savings, can help yield profits within one year. This surpasses the previous forecasts.
According to Vijay Sharma, ‘We will amplify the ability to cater to the needs of India, including its small merchants and businesses.’ This outlines the robust goals to reach more than 50 million merchants on the Paytm platform by the end of next year.
Currently, Paytm, which is a Noida-based company, has around 38 million merchants, with 10 million availing of paid services such as QR codes, audio payment confirmation devices, etc.
About Paytm
The company started in 2010 under the name of One 97, under the leadership of Vijay Sharma. It grew from offering mobile charging services to becoming India’s prominent payments brand.
The latest plans of the company are to bolster the wealth management arm. It aims to leverage AI to increase its mutual fund business and fulfill India’s burgeoning online investment space.
Sharma envisions various opportunities in the insurance sector and plans to target around 250 million users. Leveraging Microsoft Corporation and Google AI tools, the company is planning to gain efficiency while reducing employee costs to 10%–15% via AI-driven automation. With this shift, the company plans to sustain its trajectory of getting free cash while increasing lending.
According to Vijay Sharma, ‘This year showed the company’s viable commercial model.’ This phase focuses on shareholder returns. While the company progresses, Sharma is committed to bringing Paytm to a better stage of sustained growth and returns.