Paytm expands ESOP scheme to $604 million, adds 242,904 stock options

Digital financial services company Paytm said Monday it has added 242,904 stock options, taking the overall Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) valuation to $604 million.

The addition takes the existing ESOP pool to 2.4 million equity options.

Paytm, valued at over $16 billion, plans to award the expanded stock options to more employees during its annual performance appraisal.

To attract and retain talented professionals, Paytm last year amended certain aspects of its ESOP policy, introducing performance-based ESOPs.

These are given at the time of hiring or during the appraisal cycle and all key roles across different levels are eligible for it. It has linked ESOPs to individual goals that are reviewed and approved by the business heads with the flexibility to accommodate multiple scenarios and also meet employees' aspirations, the firm said in a statement.

“We consider our ESOP scheme as a great way to promote the spirit of wealth creation among employees & truly believe that every employee is a stakeholder in the company. Our ESOP policy rewards colleagues on the basis of their overall performance and achievements,” said a Paytm spokesperson.

Paytm said it achieved over 1.4 billion transactions in March, led by growth in offline payments and financial services.

The firm says it continues to register, on average, 15 per cent month-on-month growth.

It has recently launched a slew of new products and services aimed at helping seasoned as well as new-to-investment users. It aims to achieve over 10 million users and 75 million yearly transactions in financial year 2022 with the majority of users from small cities and towns.

The company is also making a play on the hardware side with its Internet of Things (IoT)-based payment devices, Soundbox 2.0 and Paytm Smart PoS (Point of Sale) for Android phones which allow businesses to accept card payments through their phones.