- Indian mobile wallet platform will expand its services to include foreign currency exchange and a possible move into remittances
- Newly-acquired licence from the Reserve Bank of India would allow cross-border payments and currency exchange
- No official timeline has been announced
Mobile wallet Paytm is set to expand its financial services offering with new capabilities in foreign exchange that would also make it possible for the Indian company to enter into the international money transfer market.
Paytm began offering user savings accounts last year after the launch of its payments bank. Now, the company has received an authorised dealership licence from the Reserve Bank of India that would make it possible for the mobile wallet provider to process foreign currency exchanges and remittances.
According to a recent report in the Economic Times, Paytm has been eyeing the move into the exchange market for some time. International money transfer services could come at a later date, but the company has not revealed an official timeline for either expanded service.
Paytm has been focused on growing its service platforms beyond mobile wallet payments, including the addition of e-commerce support and Paytm Money, an investment service.
If Paytm were to enter India's cross-border payments market, they would compete against a number of conventional financial institutions and specialised transfer providers in one of the world's most competitive remittance environments.
In an October 2017 report from World Bank, India maintained its hold on the top spot in the global payments market with inbound remittances of roughly USD $65bn (AUD $83bn) in 2017.
"The opportunity in cross-border payments is huge. So far, mainly banks have been dealing in cross-border payments, so there has been zero disruption, which gives a big opportunity for fintech players," notes Prajit Nanu, an executive with Singapore's InstaRem transfer platform.
