No, Paytm is not a Chinese company. It is an Indian multinational financial technology company headquartered in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India. Paytm specialises in digital payments and financial services, such as UPI transfers, bill payments, money transfers, mobile recharges, merchant payment solutions like QR code payments, Android-based payment terminals, and online payment gateway, microcredit, credit cards, investments, wealth management, and insurance. In addition, the company also functions as an e-commerce aggregator and offers travel ticket bookings.
| Details | Info |
| Founded | 2010 |
| Founder | Vijay Shekhar Sharma |
| Headquarters | Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India |
| CEO | Vijay Shekhar Sharma |
| Sector | Financial technology, e-commerce |
Company History
Paytm was launched by Vijay Shekhar Sharma in the year 2010. It started as a prepaid mobile and DTH recharge platform. Subsequently, debit card, postpaid mobile and landline bill payments were added in the 2013. Paytm became one of India’s first digital wallets when it received RBI approval for Paytm Wallet in the year 2014.
In the year 2015, Paytm’s valuation crossed $2 billion. Following demonetisation in India in November 2016, the daily transactions through Paytm surged to over 7 million, up from around 2 million. The company launched Paytm Payments Bank in May 2017, with Vijay Shekhar Sharma holding 51% stakes.
Paytm became India’s first payment app to surpass 10 crore downloads in the year 2017. By the year 2018, Paytm had started allowing merchants to accept Paytm, card and UPI payments directly into their bank accounts. In January 2021, Paytm Payments Bank received approval to operate as a scheduled payments bank.
Paytm unveiled the largest IPO in Indian history in November 2021. In January 2024, RBI imposed major restrictions on Paytm Payments Bank.
Current Status
Paytm is ranked third in UPI volume after Google Pay and PhonePay, with just over 7% market share. However, it leads in certain merchant segments like QR code payments and offline retail. Paytm processed 1.52 billion transactions in October 2025, which is its strongest in 20 months.
Paytm has over 4 crore registered vendors and deploys over 1 crore devices. 68% of its merchant transactions take place through QR codes. Paytm supports UPI payments in local currency in select countries. It also provides global hotel/flight bookings.
Future Outlook
Paytm is positioned well enough to achieve 10-15% market share in UPI by the year 2027, driven by focus on merchant lending, AI integrations and light-asset model. The company expects to secure 10% of its revenues from remittances by the year 2028, driven by UPI adoption in more than 12 countries.
