Paytm Mall ropes in auditing giant EY to crack down on frauds

• Paytm Mall has partnered with EY to probe a cashback fraud, according to reports.
• However, the company has said that it has partnered with E&Y to build a technology driven fraud prevention system.

Paytm is back in the news again for trouble brewing in its quarters. The company has brought in consulting and auditing giant EY to probe into a possible cashback fraud involving a Paytm employee, according to a report by TOI.

No further details are known yet and when reached out, Paytm spokesperson was unavailable for comment.

If true, this will be the second time Paytm will face a setback from one of its own employees. Earlier in October 2018, Paytm was caught in a scandal involving its Chief Communications Officer Sonia Dhawan in an extortion case. Dhawan was accused of allegedly blackmailing the Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma, to extort ₹20 crore from Sharma.

However, Paytm Mall has said that it has partnered with E&Y to build a technology driven fraud prevention system. The company has released an official statement regarding its partnership with E&Y, which will help build Paytm Mall a secure network for its users.

“Our partnership with E&Y will help benchmark with global best practices as we build a Technology Driven Fraud Prevention System to scale our operations. Our teams continue to work closely with E&Y to share our learnings and insights. We are committed to build a trusted commerce platform and will take strict action against wherever needed,” said Srinivas Mothey, Sr. Vice President – Paytm Mall.

While Paytm has seen a fairly smooth and fast growing journey of success, its subsidiary Paytm Mall has run into multiple problems since its launch in 2016. There were even reports that Paytm Mall might not see the light of the day, however things seem to be turning around for the company.

According to the company’s statement, Paytm Mall has seen a 200% growth in the past six months. Over the months, it also went on a hiring spree to bring on board 200 people who will help map its growth.

“Paytm Mall is a business that has learnt that Online to Offline (O2O) is the best business model. Our attention on partners keeping items in warehouses has now significantly reduced and we have offloaded many partners," Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma had said in an earlier interview with Business Insider. "Our focus now is on shops – from where the shipments will happen. This model has worked out incredibly well for us. Year on year, we are up and have already cut one third of the costs."

See Also:
‘I want it all and I want it now’, says Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma as he plans a ticket to the US
Paytm is competing with almost everyone in Indian e-commerce