Paytm seeks licence to set up public deposits fund

Firm plans to invest $1.6 bn over the next five years to expand the bank's wealth management

India’s largest digital-payments company, Paytm, is seeking a licence to set up a money market fund where users can store cash and earn interest, in competition with the country's banks, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Paytm has applied to the Reserve Bank of India to start the fund and increase its offerings to its over 250 million users, said the person, asking not to be named because the matter is private. It's another step in the startup's push to disrupt the country's financial services industry after it secured a banking license and began offering gold trading earlier