Note ban: Downloads double for Paytm; transactions up by 250%

Moneycontrol BureauIndia’s largest mobile payment wallet Paytm has registered massive growth with an overwhelming 435 percent increase in overall traffic post shortage of Rs 100 currency notes in India and a ban on the Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes.

Within hours of the PM Narendra Modi’s announcement, the Noida company registered a 200 percent hike in number of app downloads and 250 percent surge in number of overall transactions and transaction value.

The number of Saved Cards also grew by 30 percent, pointing at a strong set of repeat customers the platform has now acquired.

The company has noted 1000 percent growth in money added to the wallet and 400 percent growth in transaction value of offline payments.

“This is the biggest and most ambitious step ever to crack down on black money and fake currency. We stand by the government in its efforts towards taking black money out of the equation and offering a major boost to the Indian economy. Since Paytm is fast becoming synonymous to all kinds of payments, we are happy to announce we have registered a strong surge in volume on our platform,” says Madhur Deora, CFO – Paytm.

Snapdeal-owned mobile wallet Freecharge has reported a sharp 12X overnight jump in the average wallet balance as consumers loaded up their wallets to face a cashless day across India. Mobikwik also saw a 7X increase in average wallet balance.

With the current user base of more than 150 million, Paytm’s investors include Ant Financials (Alipay), Alibaba Group, SAIF Partners, Sapphire Venture, Mediatek and Silicon Valley Bank.