Paytm Credit Card coming soon; fintech firm to partner with card issuers, aims 2 mil users in 12 months

In an effort to increase the penetration of credit systems in India, digital financial service provider Paytm said that it is working on building ‘Next Generation Credit Cards’, partnering with various card issuers. With the Paytm Credit Card, the company is aiming to transform the credit market by enabling ‘new to credit’ users to join the digital economy. Vijay Shekhar Sharma’s Paytm is the leading payments company that has repeatedly benefited from the increasing digital adoption in India. Paytm has an estimated customer base of 150-200 million and it plans to issue nearly 2 million credit cards in the next 12-18 months.

For the Paytm Credit Card, the firm is designing an innovative digital experience on its app allowing users to manage their overall spends and have full control over the card usage. “With this service, Paytm aims to give complete control to cardholders to manage their transactions in real-time. It will be equipped with instant one-touch services such as change of the security pin number, updating the address, blocking the card in case of loss or fraud prevention, issuance of a duplicate card and viewing outstanding credit-limit,” Paytm said in a release. 

Other features of the Paytm Credit Card would include switching off contactless payments and international transactions. Paytm will also provide insurance protection against fraudulent transactions. Users would also get to analyse their spends using the Paytm Credit Card with a personalized spend analyzer. Paytm is working on designing the credit card in fashion that will not require customers to visit bank branches with the entire universe of offerings available on the Paytm application.

India’s credit card penetration stands at merely 3% compared 320% in developed markets such as the United States America. “In our country, credit cards are still considered a product for the affluent sections of the society and not everyone can avail of its benefits. At Paytm, our aim is to provide credit cards that benefit India’s aspiring youth and evolved professionals,” said Bhavesh Gupta, CEO – Paytm Lending. Gupta added that the Paytm Credit Cards aim to help customers lead a healthier financial life through managing and analysing the spends to make well-informed decisions. The digital financial services platform plans to capture at least 10% of the credit card market which it terms as ‘largely untapped’.

Continuing with its trend of cashback and reward model, the Paytm Credit card will also have a rewards program with assured cashback on every transaction. The points accrued by customers will have no expiry and users will also be able to utilize those for various payments in the Paytm ecosystem, Paytm said.