Paytm's Big Revamp: Younger Users, 50,000-Plus Salesforce, Smaller Cities
NDTV
Billionaire founder-CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma is overhauling its suite of money management products to better tap growing wealth among younger users, who're warmer to the idea of investing online.
Paytm plans to revamp its online wealth management services and hire more than 15,000 contract salespeople to get more merchants on its network, aiming to hit profitability sooner than targeted.
Billionaire founder-CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma is overhauling its suite of money management products to better tap growing wealth among younger users, who're warmer to the idea of investing online. At the same time, it's orchestrating a campaign to boost its salesforce to 50,000-plus people next fiscal year to try and sign up more merchants across smaller Indian cities and towns.
The twin initiatives mark an ambitious effort to turn around Paytm, officially called One 97 Communications Ltd., once hailed as a new-economy symbol of India's startup scene. The company has fallen roughly 70% since a $2.5 billion 2021 IPO as investors fret about persistent losses, while rivals such as Walmart Inc.'s PhonePE and regulatory curbs threaten to sap growth.
