Paytm

Paytm began in August 2010 as a prepaid mobile and DTH recharge platform, founded by Vijay Shekhar Sharma under One97 Communications with an initial investment of US$2 million. The company expanded into bill payments in 2013 and launched the Paytm Wallet in January 2014, which was quickly adopted by Indian Railways and Uber. By 2015, the platform added education fees, metro recharges, utility payments, bus ticketing, and travel booking. The service saw explosive growth after India's demonetization policy in November 2016, when millions of users shifted to digital payments.

Headquartered in Noida, Paytm now offers a wide range of financial services including QR code payments, Soundbox devices, Android-based payment terminals, an online payment gateway, and UPI-based transactions. Its subsidiary Paytm Payments Bank provides savings accounts and payment services. The company also operates Paytm Money for mutual fund investments and retail brokerage, Paytm Insurance, Paytm First Games, and Paytm Insider for event ticketing. For the fiscal year 2022-23, the platform processed a gross merchandise value of approximately ₹13.2 lakh crore (about US$140 billion).

Paytm's parent company One97 Communications went public in November 2021 in India's largest IPO at the time, raising ₹18,300 crore (US$2.4 billion), with the issue oversubscribed 1.89 times. Despite regulatory challenges including the revocation of its Payments Bank license and restrictions on certain services, the company reported a profit of approximately ₹552 crore in Q4 FY26, signaling a significant turnaround. Paytm continues to power over 1.51 crore merchant devices across India, making it one of the country's largest merchant payment ecosystems. [edit]