India’s renowned fintech giant, Paytm, has announced the promotion of Bhavesh Gupta, a crucial executive in its lending division, to the position of President and Chief Operating Officer (COO). This move is designed to bolster the company’s lending operations as the digital lending sector becomes increasingly competitive.
In his previous role as Senior Vice President, Gupta made a significant impact at Paytm. His new responsibilities encompass leading the verticals of lending, insurance, and both online and offline payments. He will also focus on driving key initiatives, such as user growth, operations risk management, fraud risk management, and compliance, according to an official statement by One 97 Communications Limited, Paytm’s parent company. Gupta will continue reporting directly to Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Paytm’s managing director and chief executive.
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Gupta’s impressive professional journey includes a stint as CEO of Clix Capital (formerly GE Capital), prior to joining Paytm in 2020. With over 25 years of industry experience, he also led SME and business banking at IDFC Bank, and served as an executive at ICICI Bank, one of India’s premier private banks. Gupta holds an MBA from the Institute of Management Studies, Indore, and is a graduate of Delhi University.
Gupta’s elevation comes at a critical time when Paytm is ambitiously planning to expand its digital lending operations to stay ahead of the pack, as more and more companies enter the digital lending space.
Paytm’s primary competitor, the Walmart-backed PhonePe, has initiated digital lending pilots and is planning to apply for a non-banking financial company (NBFC) license, according to recent remarks by its founder and CEO. In addition to PhonePe, several other fintech companies, such as Cred, Jar, and KreditBee, are keen to expand their digital lending operations, as India continues to present substantial credit opportunities.
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Paytm, as one of India’s largest fintech companies, significantly depends on its lending business. The company’s credit distribution, in collaboration with numerous lenders, expanded to 1.2 crore (82% YoY growth) loans, with a total loan value of Rs 12,554 crore, marking a 253% YoY growth, according to a report released last week. As of March 2023, 95 lakh borrowers have availed loans through the platform, and the total number of loans disbursed in FY23 saw a 163% YoY growth to 4 crore loans amounting to Rs 35,378 crore, a whopping 357% YoY increase. This news is based on information from siliconIndia.
