In three to four years, we will be numero uno in e-commerce: Paytm founder

Interview with Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma

Since the government’s demonetisation move a year ago, a lot has changed for Paytm, which now commands a 58 per cent mobile wallet market share. One97 Communications, Paytm’s parent, has launched two new entities — e-commerce firm Paytm Mall and Paytm Payments Bank — in the past one year. Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma tells Karan Choudhury that the company will be the top player in e-commerce in the next few years, ahead of the likes of Amazon and Flipkart. Edited excerpts:

What has changed for you in the past one year?

Personally for me, from being a fledgling start-up, we have gained an incredible amount of traction. Now, we understand the immense scale and possibility there is in India. Paytm has moved beyond just being a wallet to a full-blown financial services provider with our payments bank. 

But, if one goes by the numbers, digital transactions have plateaued.    

No secret about that. We knew that once cash started coming back (after demonetisation), the number (of digital transactions) would go down. But the good thing is that the numbers have not fallen to the pre-demonetisation levels. 

Why have you been slow on the expansion of Paytm Payments Bank?

The reason is that we are yet to launch it formally. Right now, it is in the beta phase. We have tens of millions of users and, by 2020, we believe that our target of 500 million will be achieved. We plan to start 100,000 banking points as well.

How serious a contender is Paytm Mall to the likes of Amazon and Flipkart?

People need to understand that this is a five- to ten-year-long battle for supremacy. We are here for a long haul. But rest assured, we will achieve the numero uno status in e-commerce in the next three to four years. It is not a billions — versus-billions fight. Our business model is far more superior, and, anyway, a single monolith retail model would not survive for long.

What is your profitability target? What is the gross merchandise value (GMV) that you are targeting?

We are still trying to reach out to a large consumer base. We are spreading ourselves. But, by the end of this financial year, the overall GMV of the company would be Rs 1 lakh crore.

Which are the partnerships and acquisitions you are planning? There have been talks of you buying out an e-grocery player.

We are a builder of companies and do not just believe in acquisitions. Yes, we are in talks with various players on partnerships, though.