Paytm receives $1.4 billion investment from SoftBank in latest funding round

Key Highlights:

• Raises $1.4 billion, the largest round from a single investor in India
• Plans to continue to expand its user base, and build a suite of financial services products
• SoftBank joins long-time partner Alibaba Group as a major shareholder and will take a seat on the Paytm board

Paytm announced an investment of $1.4 billion into the company on Thursday made by the SoftBank Group. The Japanese investment company, which had invested in Snapdeal and Ola cabs, now invests in One97 Communications Ltd, the entity that operates the Paytm brand

This company said the investment will help Paytm grow its leadership in the country’s payment ecosystem, expand its user base and build a suite of financial services products for its users.

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Paytm plans to invest Rs 10,000 crore (approximately $1.6 billion) over the next three to five years towards its commitment to enabling half a billion Indians to join the mainstream economy, the company said in a statement.

“As a part of this vision, the company will soon launch the Paytm Payments Bank, a mobile-first product that will reach every corner of the nation, and focus on the millions of unserved and under-served Indians,” it further added.

Paytm Founder & CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma said, “We are at an inflection point in our journey with Paytm. This investment by Softbank and support of the incredible entrepreneur Masa Son is a great endorsement of our team's execution and vision. We believe we have a great opportunity to bring financial inclusion to half a billion Indians.”

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Masayoshi Son, Chairman & CEO, SoftBank Group Corp said, “In line with the Indian government's vision to promote digital inclusion, we are committed to transforming the lives of hundreds of millions of Indian consumers and merchants by providing them digital access to a broad array of financial services, including mobile payments. We are excited to partner with Paytm in this journey and will provide them with all our support.”

Added Eric Jing, CEO - Ant Financial, “India has presented us with the world’s largest opportunity in terms of financial services and we are confident its market will grow exponentially over the next decade. We are proud to be Paytm's strategic partner and be a part of the great story as it emerges as the country’s biggest and fastest growing fintech company. We will continue to extend our tech know-how to support Paytm's growth in the country. And we welcome SoftBank to a great ride together to provide equal access to financial services in India."

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Paytm’s zero cost QR Code-based payment solution has been adopted by millions of merchants and has become synonymous to digital payments in India.

In January 2014, it launched the Paytm Wallet, which has emerged as India’s biggest digital wallet with over 220 million users and is accepted as the preferred mode of payment by over 5 million offline merchants across India.