Mobile payment and wallet company Paytm has crossed the $5-billion (Rs 33,000 crore) target for Gross Merchandise Value of sales four months ahead of schedule. GMV is is the total worth of goods sold through a digital platform. The company attributes this success to the Centre’s demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes, after which its daily transactions shot up to seven million, worth about Rs 120 crore.

Paytm Vice President Sudhanshu Gupta said they have witnessed “an exponential increase in adoption of Paytm as a way to pay”. Last year, the company’s GMV was $3 billion (Rs 19,000 crore). Moreover, Paytm is currently handling a higher number of transactions than the combined daily average usage of credit and debit cards in India, Gupta added.

Advertisement

In the past 10 days, the online payment company has served more than 45 million users and has had more than five million new users join the platform. Currently, the firm has more than 150 million users. The Noida-based company touched a record five million transactions on November 14, according to Mint.

Overall, mobile wallets have gained from the Centre’s demonetisation move. MobiKwik said it has witnessed a 400% increase in transactions in Gujarat alone. The state contributes to 10% of the company’s user base. Currently, the mobile payment network has 35 million users, including one lakh retailers.

Furthermore, both Paytm and MobiKwik have announced their intention to expand their offline presence by partnering with merchants across the country.

The claims made by the online wallets come even as the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government faces criticism from several Opposition parties for scrapping the high-value notes. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had warned his aides before making the announcement, so they could deposit their unaccounted for money.