India's largest mobile wallet goes global, launches app in Canada
India's largest mobile wallet, Paytm, has launched in Canada. Users can now pay their cell phone, cable, internet, water and electricity bills as well as their insurance and property taxes via the Paytm Canada app.
This is the Alibaba-backed company's first foray into the international market.
However, in 2014, it had set up Paytm Labs, its R&D division, in Toronto and continues to operate a team of 55 data scientists and engineers there.
The app was unveiled by Toronto Mayor John Tory and Paytm Founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma on Thursday. It is now live on Google Play Store and iTunes.
The app will send users reminders for bill payment 10 days prior to the estimated due date, and will keep sending multiple reminders until one pays the bill or notifies it to stop. Paytm Canada will debit the money only after the bill is paid, the company said in a blog.
Mint quoted a Paytm spokesperson, as saying: “Canada has all the right ingredients — a mature, smartphone-ready population, an environment that greatly promotes innovation in the fintech space and we felt that the bill payments experience can be greatly improved.”
Paytm plans to expand its services by adding a full lineup of new use-cases, the blog added.
Earlier this month, Mint had reported that three of Paytm's investors — Reliance Capital, SVB (Saama Capital) and SAP Ventures — sold their combined stake of about 4.3 percent to Alibaba Group and its payments arm Ant Financial, which valued the company around $5.7-5.9 billion.
And chief Sharma has already set his next goal: 500 million Paytm wallets by 2020.
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