Ant Financial Services Group signs strategic agreement with One97 Communications

NEW DELHI, INDIA: Ant Financial Services Group (“Ant Financial”), a China based online financial services company and One97 Communications (One97), which runs Paytm, has announced a strategic agreement that will see Ant Financial take a 25 percent stake in One97 to support the growth of mobile payment and commerce platform in India.

Paytm will use the funds to grow its mobile payment ecosystem and further boost its commerce user base. The deal represents Ant Financial’s first-ever investment into an Indian company, and demonstrates the company’s confidence in India’s digital payment sector. With this investment, Ant Financial will provide Paytm with strategic and technical support for its business.

Ant Financial and Paytm will also build on synergies in the mobile wallet front in order to offer Indian consumers comprehensive product and services and to tap the significant potential of the India mobile payment market.

“With over 1 billion people, India’s payments market has vast untapped potential. As smartphone use continues to rise in India, we see great opportunity in the mobile wallet space and Paytm, as a leader in this field, is best equipped to build a mobile payments ecosystem in the country,” said Cyril Han, vice president of Ant Financial.