What are the three-party payments in India - Paytm, the $30bn "Stitch Monster"

　　HEADLINE: Indian payments giant Paytm: the fintech pioneer on its way to a $30bn valuation

　　Indian payments company Paytm, as a local payments giant, is a "cornerstone" in building the local digital economy and society in the fastest digitising Indian market. In this paper, we discuss Paytm's history, market competition, and prospects for profitability.

　　I. The evolution of Paytm, the Indian payments giant

　　1. Founding and growth of Paytm: Founded in 2010, Paytm started with mobile recharge and bill payments and has evolved into a one-stop financial services platform covering digital payments, wealth management, digital wallets, insurance, credit, stock broking and other businesses.

　　2. Growth driven by the "Digital India" programme: In 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi proposed the "Digital India" programme to drive India's digital transformation, and in November 2016, the Modi government issued the "demonetisation order", which further reduced Paytm's market education costs and led to a surge in registered users. In November 2016, the Modi government issued the "abolition of banknotes" decree, which further reduced Paytm's market education costs and led to a surge in its registered users.

　　Second, the competitive landscape of the Indian payments market

　　1. Explosive market growth: In January 2021, India's Internet users reached 624 million, with an Internet penetration rate of 451 TP3 T. With many players joining the payments market, India's tech and finance startup space is getting more and more lively.

　　2. Paytm's Market Position : According to the India Mobile Payments Market Analysis Report 2020, Paytm has a market share of 50% in the P2M (merchant payments) market, but lags behind Phonepe and Google Pay in terms of UPI (Unified Payment Interface) transaction volumes.

　　Third, Paytm's profitability prospects

　　1. Profitability challenge: Paytm has been losing money since its inception. To reduce losses, Paytm has restructured its business to focus on financial services.

　　2. Dawn of profitability: Paytm has expanded its lending business by partnering with a number of non-banking financial companies and has developed a "buy now, pay later" product. It also has a wealth management business, Paytm Money, which offers users the ability to buy funds, gold, pension schemes and more. Founder Sharma said Paytm is likely to break even by 2021.

　　In conclusion, Paytm, the Indian payment giant, has been consolidating its advantages in the market competition, actively expanding its business areas, and its profitability prospect is becoming clearer. However, the challenges it faces are still severe, how to maintain its leading position in the highly competitive market, and become the "infrastructure" in India's digital social ecology will be the key to Paytm's future.