An Unique Interview with Mahesh Shukla, Founder & CEO of PayMe
Mahesh Shukla, Founder and CEO of PayMe, shares his journey of revolutionizing digital lending by technology-driven options that empower people, improve monetary accessibility, and pave the best way for a extra inclusive and clear monetary ecosystem in India.
PayMe has been a key participant in India’s digital lending area. How would you describe your journey thus far and what differentiates PayMe from different NBFC–Fintech gamers?
Mahesh Shukla: My journey has been extremely fulfilling and deeply private. After I began PayMe in 2016, it wasn’t nearly constructing a Fintech lending firm; it was about fixing an actual lending drawback I had witnessed up shut.
Individuals with regular incomes, even these working in established MNCs, struggled to entry well timed credit score. That hole pushed me to create a digital-first, clear, and moral Fintech lending platform.
From a bootstrapped startup, PayMe has grown into a strong fintech ecosystem, disbursing over ₹2,100 crore in loans and empowering tens of millions of Indians.
What units us aside is our philosophy, we don’t simply lend; we assist folks construct credit score well being. Our Credit score Help product, for example, helps people enhance their creditworthiness somewhat than merely rejecting them. This concentrate on training, transparency, and accountable lending defines who we’re.
How do you see PayMe contributing to India’s monetary inclusion agenda, particularly for underserved segments?
Mahesh Shukla: Monetary inclusion goes past giving loans; it’s about creating consciousness, duty, and alternative. At PayMe, we’re deeply centered on reaching India’s unbanked segments, or the place lending is an impediment, particularly in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities.
By our Credit score Help initiative and partnerships with banks, NBFCs, and state governments, we’re serving to first-time debtors perceive credit score, handle it correctly, and develop financially.
Our aim is not only to provide entry to funds, however to provide entry to monetary confidence. When folks perceive methods to construct and handle their credit score, they transfer from dependence to empowerment, and that’s true monetary inclusion.
The RBI’s digital lending tips have introduced vital modifications to the fintech panorama. How has PayMe aligned its operations with these evolving laws?
Mahesh Shukla: The RBI’s digital lending framework has been instrumental in shaping a extra clear and accountable fintech ecosystem and we wholeheartedly welcome it. As an RBI-registered NBFC, we’ve all the time operated with compliance and ethics on the forefront.
At PayMe, we’ve an in-house compliance crew that ensures each course of from mortgage disbursal and buyer knowledge administration to even the knowledge shared on our social channels aligns with regulatory norms.
Every bit of communication or transaction goes by a stringent overview to make sure it meets the very best requirements of integrity.
Actually, the brand new RBI tips didn’t disrupt our mannequin—they validated it. We’ve all the time believed that sustainable fintech development comes from doing issues the appropriate manner, with full accountability and transparency.
What recommendation would you give to rising fintechs seeking to construct sustainable and compliant enterprise fashions?
Mahesh Shukla: My recommendation is easy concentrate on fixing an actual drawback earlier than you concentrate on elevating capital. Fintech shouldn’t be about flashy valuations; it’s about belief, reliability, and consistency.
Entrepreneurs should perceive their customers, construct the appropriate product, and goal for early profitability. Compliance and governance ought to be non-negotiable these should not velocity bumps however security rails that can help you scale confidently.
In case your basis is constructed on transparency and real worth creation, development will observe naturally.
How do you deal with setbacks or failures, and what have they taught you about resilience?
Mahesh Shukla: In PayMe’s early years, one of many greatest challenges wasn’t constructing the know-how it was getting folks, particularly buyers, to imagine in what we had been constructing.
Everybody needed to see quick development and flashy numbers, however I’ve all the time believed that actual success comes from a robust product and a transparent market match, not simply funding rounds.
So as a substitute of chasing buyers, we centered on chasing excellence, understanding our clients higher, refining our lending fashions, and proving that moral and clear finance can scale.
It took time, however as soon as the product began performing and clients started trusting us, perception adopted naturally from the market and from buyers alike.
The fintech trade strikes quick—how do you personally keep motivated and adaptable amid fixed change?
Mahesh Shukla: My motivation comes from affect. Each story of a buyer whose life was made slightly simpler due to PayMe that’s what retains me going. Understanding that our work has actual that means past numbers offers me immense satisfaction.
On a private degree, I begin my mornings with black tea, pranayama, and time with my youngsters, it helps me keep grounded and optimistic. I additionally make it a behavior to learn often.
Zero to One by Peter Thiel, for example, deeply influenced my perspective on innovation and management. It taught me that development isn’t about doing extra of the identical it’s about doing one thing totally different, one thing higher.
In a fast-changing trade like fintech, curiosity and flexibility are every part. I keep open to studying each single day as a result of the second you cease studying, you cease main.
Along with his forward-thinking management, Mahesh Shukla continues to drive PayMe towards redefining monetary empowerment, mixing innovation with belief to create a future the place credit score accessibility, monetary literacy, and digital transformation work hand in hand for each Indian.
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