Paytm aims at expanding in education sector services

Paytm (the brand owned by One97 Communications Limited) is aiming to scale up its education services portfolio and include insurance for tuition fee, loans, co-branded smart debit cards, test-taking platforms, among other services. The company eyes to achieve the gross merchandise value (GMV) of around $2-3 billion in the next one and a half years.

Vineet Kaul, senior vice president at Paytm Education said, “In a year from now, we would have finished a broad set of products that we want to build, making sure students, parents and government job applicants see Paytm Education as a one-stop destination for all their needs."

It now plans to introduce financial products like an insurance for tuition fees called 'Fee Protect'. Under this service, Paytm will provide tuition fees with an annual premium of roughly Rs 250 per lakh. The company is also coming up with a first-of-its-kind Student Smart Card that will be co-branded with educational institutes, and can also be used for financial transactions, act as access, student ID, attendance and library card, among other services.

Paytm has been expanding its services in the education sector. Last month, it announced its upcoming plans to introduce a number of educational services like coaching marketplace, government exams forms, forms for nursery admission and private college admissions, etc. Presently, the users can avail of educational services including fee payment, career counseling, exploring college and exams.

The digital payments and e-commerce company currently lists more than 10,000 colleges, universities, and other educational institutions on its platform.