Alibaba-Backed Paytm Aims to Become World's Largest Digital Bank
- Paytm Payments Bank to offer services to unbanked millions
- Rules allow payments banks to accept deposits but bar lending
A Paytm sign in Bengaluru, India.
Photographer: Dhiraj Singh/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Paytm Payments Bank aims to create the world’s largest digital bank with 500 million accounts, envisioning an online financial services provider of everything from wealth management to credit cards and stock market trading.
The bank, backed by the country’s largest digital wallet of the same name, launched formally Tuesday and is targeting people who don’t have access to professional financial services. That aligns with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ambition to broaden access for the under-banked in the nation of 1.3 billion people.