Payment needs democratization in India: Vijay Shekhar Sharma

NEW DELHI: Digital payments and commerce platform Paytm's founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma said that payments sector is one of the most regulated sectors. It needs to be democratised. If ever there was a time to do online business in India, now is the time.

In January this, Paytm witnessed transactions of Rs. 5000 crore. Such is the scope of fintechs today," said Sharma while speaking at IAMAI’s 11th India Digital Summit.

He further added, “Paytm is witnessing 8.5 million transactions everyday, whereas combined debit and credit card transactions is at 10 million.”

He further added that soon Paytm will be giving money to merchants for transacting on the platform.

In an earlier session, Sanjay Sethi, CEO - Shopclues, said, “Growth of internet economy depends how fast online companies can reach rural India and not focus on the metros.”

Speaking about level playing field, Kavin Bharti Mittal, Founder & CEO - Hike Messenger, said, “Homegrown startups doesn’t need protection. What we need is a level playing field.”

He added, “It is imperative for startups in the online space to have a great product because that is one thing which will sustain the startup.”

Speaking about Hike Messenger, Kavin said, “Every country has 2-3 messenger services. Hike is growing in India within its target audience. We will monetise Hike by 2020.