In expansion push, Paytm appoints Bhavesh Gupta as CEO of lending business

Bhavesh Gupta has been appointed the CEO of Paytm's lending business.

Digital payments major Paytm has appointed Bhavesh Gupta as the chief executive officer of its lending business, the Noida- headquartered company said on August 6.

Gupta joins Paytm from Clix Capital where he was the chief executive officer. Paytm has a partnership with Clix Capital for its post-paid business.

He will be driving lending services on the platform and financial inclusion for 500 million Indians who have smartphones. Gupta will be working to simplify and innovate credit products to retail borrowers and small businesses in partnership with non-banking finance companies (NBFCs), Paytm said.

The Softbank and Alibaba-backed payments unicorn has been expanding its financial services business across verticals. The company, which started as a digital payments entity, has forayed into banking services through Paytm Payments Bank and is now doubling down on its lending business.

It is also in the process of acquiring a general insurance company to foray into the insurance business. Recently, it was in the news for test-starting stock broking on Paytm Money.

“Paytm is on a mission to democratise diversified financial services in the country and access to credit for consumers and small businesses is a critical enabler to fulfil their ambitions and wishes, I look forward to working closely with him to expand our lending business further along with our esteemed banks and NBFC partners,” Paytm president Amit Nayyar said in a statement.

A veteran banker, Gupta spent more than a decade with ICICI Bank and then with IDFC First Bank before joining Clix Capital.

Over the last few months, Paytm has seen a churn at the top. It has replaced multiple executives in senior vice president roles and brought in fresh faces, indicating its diversification drive.

The company got Premanshu Singh from online startup Coverfox as its top executive for the insurance business. It recently hired Varun Sridhar as the chief executive for its wealth management business and now Gupta joins to head its lending operations. All these executives report to Nayyar.