Paytm bucks trend with 100% pay hike

Most of these increments, based on performance, will come in the low- and mid-level brackets

As belts across the start-up and e-commerce ecosystem have been tightened, Paytm plans to buck the trend and double the salaries of around 200 employees across the company, to reward their noteworthy performance.

"We have been deliberating over this since January and decided to give them the hike," said Amit Sinha, vice-president, Paytm. He added that the C-suite employees might not get 100 per cent hike, but "some of them may see their ESOPs (employee stock option plans) double as company valuation increases".

Most of these increments will come in the low- and mid-level brackets. Sinha, though, refused to comment on what designations or profiles have seen exceptional performance and will merit the raise.

Paytm currently has 4,500 employees, of which 15-20 per cent have already been given ESOPs. "Those in the mid-level, who we think we can take a bet on and see a bright future with, may also be given ESOPs," added Sinha.

The mid-level employees who will not be given ESOPs will, however, be given a 100 per cent cash appraisal where applicable. The company's policies state that those who have stayed at Paytm for a year are eligible for ESOPs and this might be used liberally. The company has seen its wage bill rise 100 per cent over the past year and Sinha sees Paytm follow a similar path the next year as well. Last year, Paytm's average appraisal was 25-30 per cent and this could go up this year.

"We have seen a surge in revenue and we think we should reward our employees for their hard work," said Sinha, adding that this was not to stem attrition in the company. Most e-commerce companies, according to recruiters, see an attrition rate of 35 per cent a year. Paytm, though, pegged its attrition rate at just one per cent a month.

The company, which plans to open its payments bank this year, said that an aggressive hiring spree should be expected with the staff count rising to 8,000-9,000 by the end of FY17. "It will not only be for the payments bank but existing businesses as well," said Sinha.

The news of the pay hike comes on the back of reports that the company had borrowed Rs 300 crore from ICICI Bank as working capital. Paytm refused to officially comment on these reports. Earlier, Flipkart had borrowed Rs 450 crore from HDFC Bank. Industry experts said this would become more of a norm with VC funding slowing down to a trickle.

Last September, Paytm had raised around $500 million from Alibaba, the Chinese e-commerce major, with the company coming on board as an official investor.

Paytm calls itself the largest mobile payment and e-commerce platform in the country.