Paytm is targeting 1.5 billion transactions during festive season with a 40% jump in number of merchants

• Vijay Shekhar Sharma-led platform is targeting to hit 1.5 billion in merchant payments.
• Paytm is hoping to do the same by reaching out to 14 million merchants this year.
• Paytm has also introduced a feature to ‘Scan any QR code to pay using Paytm.

Indian digital payments leader Paytm is gearing up for the festive season. The Vijay Shekhar Sharma-led platform is targeting 1.5 billion in merchant payments during the upcoming festive season between October and December.

Paytm is hoping to do the same by reaching out to 14 million merchants this year, 40% more from its target of 10 million last year. It is also hoping to reach out to 2 million retail outlets across the country.

Holding over 50% of the market share in the payment gateway industry, the company had earlier said that its doing 400 million transactions per month; is five times more than its next competitor.

Taking advantage of the interoperable option for UPI, Paytm has also introduced a feature to ‘Scan any QR code to pay using Paytm’.

“We have been observing the ever-evolving needs of our users & believe in providing them the flexibility to choose their preferred mode of payment. With the interoperable UPI, consumers now also get the additional flexibility to Scan any QR code through their Paytm app and make payments directly from their linked Bank account,” said Jaskaran Kapany, Marketing Head, Paytm.

In the financial year 2018-19, Paytm had clocked in a gross transaction value of $50 billion through 5.5 billion transactions. It has also set a target of 12 billion transactions by FY20.