Paytm aftershocks: Competition ramps up sales force, strengthens leadership

The Reserve Bank of India last week ordered Paytm Payments Bank to bar most of its businesses, including deposits, by February 29

Major fintech companies are ramping up their workforce and inducting new faces in their leadership teams, industry sources said on Wednesday, in the backdrop of the crisis brewing at the Paytm Payments Bank.

February 29 onwards, users will not be able to add funds to their Paytm Payments Bank Wallet, though they will still be able to use the services and the existing balance in the wallets, according to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) diktat. 

Industry sources said that competitors to Paytm are investing heavily in offline payments while doubling their salesforce, industry sources said. 

Take the case of MobiKwik. The company is increasing the induction of new merchants to the platform and is looking to invest Rs 70 crore in soundbox systems, having placed orders for the same. 
 

The Gurugram-based fintech firm is also looking to target mom-and-pop stores, petrol pumps, organised retail chains, among others, a person in the know said. 

“Focus is on EDC (electronic data capture) Machine, QR (quick response) code, sound box,” an industry source said.
 

Sources in the know also added that App installations have increased by 100 per cent for MobiKwik since the Paytm crisis broke out.

Similarly, Airtel Payments Bank is looking to expand its salesforce by fivefold in the next quarter. The company currently has over 3,000 salespeople deployed in the market, a person in the know said.

Airtel Payments Bank currently has over one million merchants live on its platform. 
 

Paytm has a salesforce of over 30,000 employees. Currently, this team is now ensuring sufficient service is provided to its merchants, according to the company’s executives. 

MobiKwik on Wednesday announced it was further strengthening its leadership team to drive the growth of its payments business. It elevated Mohit Narain to the role of Chief Operating Officer (COO) - Consumer Payments. Similarly, Harvinder Singh Chadha has joined the company to lead its payment gateway business. 

On the appointments, Bipin Preet Singh, Co-founder & CEO, of MobiKwik, said: “The digital payments landscape in India has gone through a remarkable surge in adoption. Recognising the evolving needs of India’s businesses and consumers, we have made these strategic appointments to further strengthen our foothold in the payments space.”

Similarly, PhonePe on Tuesday inducted new members to its board of directors to bolster its governance. The Bengaluru-based firm appointed former Revenue Secretary Tarun Bajaj to its board and chose him as the chairman of its risk committee.

MobiKwik and PhonePe are looking at listings as well. 

The Bengaluru-based firm also welcomed two senior Walmart executives — John D Rainey, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, and Donna Morris, Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer, as the non-executive directors.

An email sent to PhonePe did not elicit a response. 

TAPPING THE OPPORTUNITY
 

 MobiKwik to invest Rs 70 crore in acquiring sound box systems

 App installation of MobiKwik up 100% since Paytm crisis
 

 Airtel Payments Bank plans to expand its salesforce five-fold over next quarter from current 3,000 
 

 Paytm’s salesforce stands at 30,000