NE BUSINESS BUREAU
AHMEDABAD, MAR 12
Digital financial services platform Paytm on Thursday announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary ‘Paytm Money’ is planning to double down its focus on its key market – Gujarat, to become the most preferred Wealth Management Platform in Gujarat. To cash in on the ongoing cricket match at Narendra Modi Cricket Stadium at Motera in Ahmedabad, the company will launch a month-long ad blitzkrieg on Friday, said a senior official of the company.
The company is the leading driver of wealth creation in the country with over 50 percent ‘new to wealth services’ users availing investment products including Direct Mutual Funds, Stocks, IPO, F&O, ETF, NPS & Digital gold on the platform.
Paytm Money allows small ticket investments and offers trading at Rs 10 per order against Rs 20 charged by its competitor. This enables the masses to start managing their wealth actively and in a safe environment, thus promoting financial inclusion. Paytm Money now intends to further empower the users by introducing communication and products in popular regional languages like Gujarati.
Company’s COO Prakash Koradia, hailing from Gujarat, will helm the state affairs.
The company has already made deep inroads into the country & now has customers in 99 percent of all pin-codes helping in democratising wealth products & services. It has over 1 million+ users in Gujarat alone, who have invested over Rs 400 crore in Direct mutual funds with zero commission. Paytm Money aims to register over 150 percent increase in monthly new SIP registrations and a 200% increase in Total Monthly Investment volumes over the next few months.
The company’s stockbroking initiative is helping to bring in more active direct equity investors in an underpenetrated segment. Paytm Money aims to open 5mn+ demat accounts in 3 years, and expects over 20%+ of these new users to come from Gujarat. The stockbroking platform maintains a very clean and intuitive interface, while offering sophisticated functionalities for savvy users. Users see simple and advanced charting indicators.
By building a simple platform for both investors and traders, making delivery orders free and intraday/FNO at Rs 10 per order, and ensuring the tech platform is stable & solid, the company expects to receive a lot of interest from existing traders and new investors alike. Paytm Money is also enabling wealth creation with investments in Initial Public Offers (IPOs), and has made the process of IPO application completely digital & simple. It regularly publishes detailed IPO reviews in Gujarati, which has seen a wide scale reach and adoption across Gujarat.
On Equity, Gujarat is seen as an early adopter of new offerings, with 25% of the company’s equity broking customers from Gujarat holding ETFs. The top 3 cities of Ahmedabad, Surat, and Vadodara contribute over 40% of all Gujarat-based users, and Ahmedabad stands out as one of the top 5 cities in the country for Paytm Money.
The company intends to retain its top position in the market when it comes to digital gold and is set to cross 6,000 kgs of Gold transacted through the platform. The company already has more than 2mn digital gold investors from Gujarat.
Unveiling the company’s plans, Varun Sridhar, CEO – Paytm Money said,”There is a strong need for wealth management in India to be democratised, embraced, and adopted by all. Gujarat has been at the forefront of wealth creation in India and is one of our top 3 markets. We are humbled by the trust the Gujarati community has shown in Paytm Money over the last 3 years, and believe that Gujarat has the potential to become our top market.
We believe that a majority of growth in Gujarat is going to come from millennials, who want to manage their wealth on a mobile phone and are early adopters for equity. We will reach out to 30+ cities in Gujarat over the next 18-24 months, and continuously build and innovate. Delivering a platform which is stable, scalable, and loved by all, is just the start.”
