BENGALURU: Founder MD and CEO of Paytm Money Pravin Jadhav has resigned from his post due to growing differences with the company board, sources said. Jadhav, who built Paytm’s wealth management arm into India’s leading mutual fund platform, reportedly quit over issues related to employee stock options (ESOPs) and remuneration.
Paytm Money is part of Paytm parent One97 Communications’ growing consumer ecosystem, alongside Paytm, Paytm Mall and Paytm Payments Bank. Although Paytm declined to comment, sources said that the management has already accepted the resignation and will announce a replacement soon.
Jadhav’s resignation comes at a time when the online investment and digital payment platforms in the country is gaining traction during the COVID-19 lockdown. On his LinkedIn profile, Jadhav claims that he has built Paytm Money from scratch leading product development, design, engineering, finance and customer care teams.
Paytm Money has played a significant role in helping Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma build up the financial services company especially after its e-commerce vertical — Paytm Mall — lost out to e-tailers like Amazon and Flipkart. Sharma’s bet on wealth management has paid dividends since Paytm Money now claims to have 50 lakh users, with a monthly growth of 15-20 per cent.
The company is looking to expand the market for Paytm Money, with mutual fund services likely to be extended to the 16 million merchants who have signed up on the Paytm platform. Paytm Money had recently received approvals from SEBI for its stock broking business as well as the go-ahead from the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) to offer Pension Development Systems.
However, Paytm has been witness to a gradual exodus of senior management executives who headed various verticals over the past one year.