Paytm expands international footprint with UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Singapore subsidiaries
The fintech major will initially invest up to Rs 20 crore ($2.4 million) per subsidiary.
Digital payments and financial services firm Paytm is making a fresh push into international markets with new subsidiaries in the United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and Singapore.
The move, approved by the board of its wholly owned subsidiary Paytm Cloud Technologies Limited (PCTL), marks its latest attempt to replicate its India-focused fintech model in global markets.
The fintech major will initially invest up to Rs 20 crore ($2.4 million) per subsidiary.
The expansion comes after Paytm faced regulatory scrutiny in India, particularly regarding its payments bank operations. By setting up entities in these strategic locations, Paytm aims to leverage its expertise in digital payments, merchant services, and financial technology to tap into high-growth regions with significant fintech adoption.
“We believe our technology-led merchant payments and financial services distribution model has strong potential in similar international markets,” the company stated in a regulatory filing. Paytm is exploring multiple approaches for its overseas push, including organic expansion, local licensing, strategic investments, and partnerships.
The company has previously experimented with global forays, including operations in Canada and Japan, but has since scaled back some of those initiatives.
With digital payments surging in the Gulf and Southeast Asia, Paytm is betting that its established technology stack, hardware, and software solutions will find demand beyond Indian shores.
On December 6, 2024, Paytm Singapore announced the sale of its stake in Japan's PayPay Corporation to SoftBank for around $250 million.
Paytm Singapore, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Paytm, confirmed that its board had approved the divestment of Stock Acquisition Rights (SARs) in PayPay during a board meeting held that day.
While the exact deal value was not disclosed, Paytm’s CFO, Madhur Deora, had previously mentioned during the Q1 FY24 earnings call that the carrying value of the SARs in PayPay was approximately Rs 2,000 crore.
Paytm invested in PayPay in 2018 when the Japanese payments company was established as a joint venture between SoftBank Corp and Yahoo Japan Corporation, with Paytm acting as the technology partner. At the time, SoftBank was one of Paytm's largest shareholders.