Paytm bets big on AI, saves on employee costs to drive efficiency

Indian mobile payments pioneer Paytm has its eyes set on Artificial Intelligence to not just innovate faster but also streamline its workforce.The company which introduced India to mobile payments, is building an India-scale AI system that will help various financial institutes in capturing possible risks and frauds, while also protecting them from new kinds of risks due to advancement in AI.

In doing so, the company is also optimising its workforce as it eliminates repetitive tasks, and encourages its employees to adapt to AI.A Paytm Spokesperson said, “We are transforming our operations with AI-powered automation to drive efficiency, eliminating repetitive tasks and roles to drive efficiency across growth and costs, resulting in a slight reduction in our workforce in operations and marketing. We will be able to save 10-15% in employee costs as AI has delivered more than we expected it to. Additionally, we constantly evaluate cases of non-performance throughout the year.”

The company spokesperson further added, “Our core business of payment may see manpower increase by 15,000 more in the coming year. With a dominant position in the payments platform and a proven profitable business model, we will continue to innovate for India. In this, Insurance and Wealth will be a logical expansion of our platform, in continuation of our focus on the existing businesses.

Having shown the strength of our distribution-based business model in loan distribution, we are expanding the same to focus on new businesses to drive scale.”Paytm had reported operating profitability in early 2023, and is now gunning for EBITDA-level profitability. In Q2FY24, Paytm’s revenue from operations has seen a growth of 32% YoY to Rs2,519 Cr and its EBITDA before ESOP cost has improved to Rs153 Cr as compared to Rs84 Cr in Q1FY24 (excluding UPI incentives).