Ant-Backed Paytm Money Looks to Tap India’s Stock Trading Mania

Ant-Backed Paytm Money Looks to Tap India’s Stock Trading Mania

Paytm Money, a unit of the nation’s largest digital-payments startup Paytm which is backed by Chinese billionaire Jack Ma’s Ant Group, is aiming to build a top stock broker by helping local retail investors avoid the biggest investing hazard — getting burned during a down cycle and quitting for good.

The app made zero-fee stock trading available to its millions of users last month. It plans to put algorithms to work so India’s young, smartphone-savvy newbie investors can be nudged to exit loss-making trades and book profits at the right opportunity.

The newcomer is stoking competition among Indian brokerages rushing to give hungry traders the perfect platform. Nimble, technology-focused online brokers are pulling ahead of older established rivals by offering easy-to-use platforms with minimal charges. Unable to keep up with falling prices and fast-paced online services, smaller players have been rapidly closing their doors, with about three quarters of brokers shutting shop in the last six years.

Paytm, whose parent One97 Communications is valued at $16 billion, has become a fintech leader in India. It was founded a decade ago by Vijay Shekhar Sharma to offer digital payments in a market that Credit Suisse Group AG forecast to reach $1 trillion by 2023. The Ant Group has a 30.33% stake in One97.

Some of the ways in which Paytm Money hopes to stand out include features that could allow users to automate the entry, exit and monitoring of investments in various securities, Varun Sridhar, chief executive officer, said in an interview. Another planned innovation to lure users is to add resources for investor education. The app currently has the ability to set up scheduled monthly investments in individual stocks — which has proved popular in mutual funds.

“In three years time, we would like to be either number one or two with a 10-15% market share,” said Sridhar.

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