Paytm seeks $500 mn for new biz

NEWDELHI: Digital payments firm Paytm, owned by One97 Communications Ltd, is in talks to raise about $500 million from existing and new investors to build a new business vertical, said two people close to the development.

New Retail, which is likely to be launched by August-end, will be led by Renu Satti, who recently stepped down as the chief executive officer (CEO) of Paytm Payments Bank.

New Retail will be Paytm’s attempt to create a business along the lines of China’s Koubei and Meituan.

While Koubei describes itself as a “life search engine providing living consumption information on restaurants, travelling, house renting and buying,” Meituan, which also invests in food delivery start-ups, is a buying website for locally-found consumer products and retail services.

New Retail will also help customers discover neighbourhood pharmacies and grocery stores, besides facilitating online orders and instant deliveries.

Paytm confirmed that it was working on the new initiative, and is on the hunt for a new CEO for its payments bank operations.

It added that the new model will help shopkeepers with technology, logistics and marketing capabilities.

Paytm is also building a peerto-peer logistics platform with a pan-india rider network, which will be utilized for intra-city deliveries, the company said.

According to Paytm, it has already partnered with a large network of local shops, restaurants, pharmacies and grocery stores for accepting payments and will soon extend New Retail services to them.

The company has eight million offline merchants on its platform.