Indian mobile wallet provider Paytm recorded one billion transactions across its user-base of 177 million customers in the country during 2016.

The company announced the figures on its official blog this week. Its service, which can also be accessed on desktop computers, saw the percentage of transactions made on mobile increase from 72 per cent in 2015 to 89 per cent last year.

Of these, the wallet provider continued to see the greatest traction coming from its Android wallet service with 70 per cent of transactions made on the operating system compared to 4 per cent on iOS. The majority of the remainder were made through mobile browsers or on desktop machines.

According to Paytm’s figures, it currently holds a share of 26 per cent of all online transactions made in the country compared to 40 per cent made by debit or credit card.

Expansion plans
The business update comes in the same week Paytm received clearance by the Reserve Bank of India to launch its Payments Bank service. This will enable the company to expand its range of services by offering a wider range of traditional banking products, including savings accounts.

Paytm’s announcement comes amid a flurry of statements by operators and wallet providers in India which are looking to stake their claim to the lucrative financial services market after the government announced initiatives to stimulate the digital economy.

Rival mobile payment provider Bharti Airtel launched a trial of its payment bank service in Rajasthan in late November ahead of a nationwide roll-out expected to take place later this month. The company attracted 100,000 customers within the first two weeks of operation.