Paytm Mutual Funds Coming Soon; Google Tez Introduces Chat Feature!

After stepping into the Insurance space, the digital payments company will now start selling Paytm Mutual Funds and other related products under its Wealth Management arm. The Alibaba-SoftBank backed digital payments company has already received the approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), and Paytm will soon start operating with Paytm Money in the next five to eight weeks.

The company plans to start working along with multiple Asset Management Companies (AMCs) across the country to sell and support its investment properties like Paytm Mutual Funds and Equity. Paytm will to carry out all the new operations under Paytm Money, and will eventually develop into its wealth management arm.

Paytm Mutual Funds & Wealth Management Products

India’s largest digital payments company has been planning to enter into the investments space for over a year now. The company launched its Payments Bank last year and has since announced several investment instruments like FDs (with IndusInd Bank) to short-term credit loans (with ICICI Bank). The company will start with Paytm mutual funds and later enter into other asset classes such as equity.

There are 43 Asset Management companies in the country, and Paytm initially plans to integrate with around 10-12 of them before commencing Paytm Money operations. The Paytm Investments will start as an independent application on the app store.

The Paytm Money app will be different from the parent Paytm app. The app will act as an engagement product to sell Paytm Mutual Funds and other such products where interested customers can invest or buy wealth management products.

Paytm Mutual Funds & Investments Options – Future Plans

With the rapid fall of interest rates, customers are now looking for more wealth management options. The company is targeting Rs. 1,500 to Rs. 2,000 average investment per Paytm Money user. Paytm is looking to tap into the lower investment, and the firm aims to reach out to consumers beyond top 15 urban locations in the country.

In China, Yu’E Bao has become the largest money market fund in the world with assets over $200 billion. The investment firm is backed by Paytm’s parent investor Alibaba. The Chinese firm uses surplus funds lying in customers’ payment accounts.

Paytm Money will be different, and will mostly target the urban users to sell its Paytm Mutual Funds, with around an average investment of Rs 1,500/- to Rs 2,000/- per Paytm Money user.

Google Adds Chat To Tez – Should WhatsApp Worry?

With WhatsApp all set for the final roll out its Payments feature, the other digital wallet operators are doubtful about the unsegmented digital payments space in India.

After Paytm launched its in-app chat feature with Paytm Inbox, Google has added a chat option to its payments app, Tez. WhatsApp Payments is currently in the pilot stage and a final rollout may happen in a couple of months.

The chat option in Google Tez app is being rolled out in phases to its 13.5 million active users. The Google payment interface runs on Unified Payments Interface (UPI) where users can send and receive money by avoiding complicated bank account numbers and beneficiaries.

The new chat option will help users to track their transactions in a conversation form which will eventually improve the customer experience.