Ahead of the ₹21,000 crore mega LIC IPO, Paytm Money, a wholly owned subsidiary of Paytm, is set to take this largest ever public offering in India to retail stores. The discount broker has placed QR codes at kirana stores across the country to introduce the common man to the power of investing with free lifetime demat accounts.

Using these QR codes, any individual will be able to easily create their free demat accounts (mandatory for stock market trading) and place their bids for the LIC IPO, a Paytm Money spokesperson said.

“We have seen retail investor participation growing in the capital markets over the last few years, and this is set to see a further boost with the LIC IPO. Given that many eager investors will want to start their wealth management journey now, we are placing our QR codes at Paytm merchant partners’ stores across the country that will give them free demat accounts. This demonstrates Paytm Money’s commitment to empower small investors by helping them start off their IPO journey in a smooth and seamless manner”, the spokesperson added.

Retail participation

LIC IPO is the largest market debut in India and, given that the brand is ubiquitous in the country, the QR codes are being placed at Paytm-partnered merchant outlets to ensure that interested investors can easily apply for the IPO. This initiative will contribute to increase retail participation in the capital markets as people get free demat accounts.

Paytm Money has become the first discount broker in the country to allow high-networth individuals (HNIs) to place higher bids of up to ₹5 lakh via UPI, bypassing Bank ASBA flows. In addition to the retail investor category, it has created a separate category for policyholders who are eligible to apply for the LIC IPO.

Pre-open IPO applications

Pre-open IPO applications have also been enabled by Paytm Money that will help investors apply even before the IPO opens for subscription. Such applications will be recorded in Paytm Money’s system and sent to exchanges as soon as the IPO goes live.

Paytm Money has achieved a rapid growth rate organically with over 8.5 lakh trading accounts along with 9 million registered direct Mutual Fund investors. Over 75 per cent of users on the platform are below the age of 35. 

Paytm Money has a total AUM of ₹11,000 crore, with an average daily turnover of over ₹70,000 crore. In the last year, the platform has processed over 16.2 million mutual funds transactions and over 31 million equity orders. 

The platform is also among India’s Top 3 digital distributors of NPS on fintech apps with 1L+ registered users.

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