Paytm's merchant base grows to 21.1 million in FY21 from 11.2 mn in FY20

The firm's GMV increased to Rs 4.03 trn as of March 31, 2021, from Rs 2.29 trn as of March 31, 2109

Digital payments and financial services firm Paytm, whose parent company One97 Communications filed a DRHP with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), said that its total merchant base had grown to 21.1 million as of March 31, 2021, from 11.2 million as of March 31, 2019.

The firm's GMV, which is the rupee value of total payments made to merchants through its app, Paytm Payment Instruments, or through its payment solutions, over a period, increased to Rs 4.03 trillion as of March 31, 2021, from Rs 2.29 trillion as of March 31, 2109.

GMV excludes any consumer-to-consumer payment service such as money transfers.

Paytm derives a majority of its revenue from transaction fees it collects from merchants for their payment services. In FY21, its revenue from payment and financial services was 75.3 per cent of its total revenue from operations.

The company, in its DRHP, said, it will use a significant portion of its proceeds from the public offering in expanding its merchant base and deepening partnership with the merchants.

“We propose to continue with our investments in our sales team by recruiting, retaining and training sales personnel as well as equipping them with the necessary technology. This would enable us to reach more merchants in the cities where we already have a presence as well as to expand our service and product offerings to merchants in new towns and cities in India where we see opportunities to grow our merchant base," the company said.

The DRHP also says that money transfers between consumers and merchants using mobile wallets and Unified Payments Interface (UPI) are becoming a very common exercise, especially after the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, and this has led to a surge in mobile payments in the country.