Will invest $500 mn on KYC over 3 years: Vijay Shekhar Sharma

He says limiting cash loading to PPIs won't be a hindrance

Vijay Shekhar Sharma, the chief of India’s largest mobile wallet Paytm, says the new guidelines on e-wallets are just what he needs to gain customers. In an interview with Karan Choudhury, Sharma says while some may find the new know-your-consumer (KYC) norms an additional burden, his company will invest in the KYC system. Edited excerpts:

Don’t you think interoperability of mobile wallets will stall your customer base? Do you think new customers will now come to Paytm?

Of course, we will gain more customers. This is the same as mobile phone number portability in the telecom sector. Those stuck in a network they did not like quickly shifted to another. People who have their money locked in other mobile wallets will now move to our platform.

If full KYC of a wallet is not done after 12 months, it will cease to exist. Don’t you think you might lose customers because of the new norms?

Firstly, KYC is an obligation every wallet has to get done. So I do not see it as a costly or a cumbersome process. I believe this change in regulation would in fact help weed out non-serious wallet users and help us in serving the ones who want to gain from our services. We will invest around $500 million on KYC system of the wallet current and savings bank accounts (WACASA) over the next three years.

Cash loading to PPIs shall be limited to Rs 50,000 a month subject to overall limit of PPI. Will this be a hindrance?

I do not think so. This will only motivate our users to open a payments bank account where they can put much more money.