Now, Paytm, leading Indian digital payments platform, is eyeing this Rs 20,000 crore GMV opportunity

The rise of Paytm in India has been truly remarkable and the story will surely inspire generations to come - globally. And, now, after so much success in the payments  and other segments, it is looking to step into a totally different space. Notably, Paytm aims to significantly expand its education services by building and facilitating everything that is needed by students, parents and government job aspirants. In a statement released on Tuesday, the company said that it is aggressively partnering with thousands of private and government institutions to offer full bouquet of services across payments, commerce, financial and academic services.

As of now the platform offers fee payment services at more than 10,000 educational institutions across the country. With its latest push, the company aims to cross Rs 20,000 crores GMV in the education business in In FY'20. It hopes to get 3.5 crore users across 20,000 private schools, 1000 higher educational institutes and 1000 coaching institutes while on board achieving higher GMV with its large bouquet of services. The statement added that Paytm is looking to further build on the trust that it enjoys with its customers, by facilitating a one-stop destination for all educational needs.

 "We want to enable the student and parent community at every step. Right from providing details on 25,000 colleges, schools, courses and exams, our bouquet of services will include – payments (in-app and in educational centres), commerce (coaching, scholarships, test preparation, admission forms etc.) and financial services (student insurance, educational loans (easy EMI) and banking)," Vineet Kaul, Senior Vice President - Paytm said.

The Expansion plan

Over the coming years, Paytm Education aims to expand its presence in the education ecosystem in India, which is estimated to be worth more than Rs 100,000 crores. For this, the platform is working with private and government educational institutions to offer admission forms, exam results, applications for Government jobs, coaching & test preparations, scholarships, study abroad, skill development & certification programs and convenience to buy uniforms, books & stationery on its platform. 

It is already in partnership with institutions like Railway Recruitment Board, Maharashtra Public Service Commission, National Testing Agency, Indian Navy, Amity, VIT, Manipal, AKTU, Army Public Schools, Delhi Public Schools, Delhi University, IITs, IIMs, NITs, Aligarh Muslim University, AIMA, ICAI, Narayana Group, Career Launcher, Made Easy, Career360 and several others. 

Paytm also plans to offer financial services like educational insurance, loans and co-branded smart cards to students.