Paytm partners with Shriram Finance to strengthen loan distribution among small businesses

Through this partnership, the company said Shriram Finance’s products will be made available on Paytm’s platform digitally to further expand access to credit, especially among the small businesses in the country.

With Paytm’s experience as a loan service provider (LSP), the company said this partnership will integrate Shriram Finance’s wide geographical presence across the country, especially rural areas.

This is not the first time that Paytm has partnered with marquee financial institutions to digitally distribute loans. The platform has seven partners and now, it said merchants on the Paytm network will get a chance to avail loans from Shriram Finance and then it will be extended to consumers loans, the companies 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,” Umesh Revankar, Executive Vice Chairman, Shriram Finance said. “A lot of this demand will come from the digitally literate, young generation brought up in the mobile telephone proliferation era and those having comfort in having all their transactions through handheld devices.”

In order to take advantage of this opportunity while continuing to serve the unserved and underserved, Revankar said Shriram Finance has decided to collaborate with Paytm across the country.

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“Our commitment to expand credit distribution gets 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,” Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Founder and CEO, Paytm said in a statement.Shriram Finance has Assets under management of Rs 1,85,683 crore and 2,922 branches in the country. The company claims that it caters to 7 million customers across India, driven by the self-employed ecosystem in India.

“We are happy to onboard Shriram Finance as our latest marquee partner, as we continue to drive growth momentum in the credit distribution business while remaining focussed on digital lending compliance and quality of loans. With Shriram Finance’s strong presence, especially in Southern India, we aim to boost access to credit by empowering users across the country with simplified loans distribution,” Bhavesh Gupta, President and COO, Paytm added.