One97 Communications Limited, which owns the brand Paytm, on Friday announced a partnership with NBFC Shriram Finance Limited. The strategic merger will offer financial services to its users, including loan products. After the merger, Paytm will be featuring Shriram Finance products on its website. This will further boost access to credit.At the initial stage, the merchants on the Paytm network will get the chance to avail loans and at the later stage the loan facility will be expanded to consumers.While talking about the merger, Paytm founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma said, “Our commitment to expanding credit distribution gets a further boost with our new strategic partner Shriram Finance. We are happy that together we will be able to create credit offerings to serve small merchant partners and entrepreneurs of India.”Announcing our partnership with Shriram Finance to strengthen our loan distribution business. Together, we aim to drive credit inclusion in the country!@ShriramGroup Read more: https://t.co/hL2ybUUPk7 pic.twitter.com/B0AURAfWRb— Paytm (@Paytm) June 30, 2023Umesh Revankar, Executive Vice Chairman, Shriram Finance Ltd said, “India is witnessing high growth in retail credit demand, it is only likely to increase with greater participation from rural and semi-urban India. A lot of this demand will come from digitally literate, young generation brought up in mobile telephone proliferation era and those having comfort in having all their transactions through handheld devices. To take advantage of this opportunity while staying true to our ethos of serving the unserved and underserved, and vision of becoming the most preferred financial services destination, Shriram Finance has collaborated with the pioneer of mobile payments, Paytm, across the country.”Bhavesh Gupta, Paytm President and COO, added, “We are happy to onboard Shriram Finance as our latest marquee partner, as we continue to drive the growth momentum in the credit distribution business while remaining focused on digital lending compliance and quality of loans.”Notably, Shriram Finance is one of the largest retail non-banking finance companies in the country with assets under management of ₹1.85 lakh crore, an employee base of over 64 thousand and 2,922 branches in operation.
