One97 Communications Limited (OCL) that owns the brand Paytm, has on Wednesday announced an investment of Rs 100 crore ($12 million) in Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) to build a global financial ecosystem in Gandhinagar in India.

OCL and Paytm said in a statement that OCL will make the investment over a period of time and will seek requisite approvals for the same.

With GIFT city as an ideal innovation hub for cross-border activity, it said Paytm will use its proven capability to innovate and build new tech for users across the globe looking to invest in India.

As the pioneer of real-time payments and settlements in India, the company will replicate its success to now reduce friction in cross-border remittances with faster and cost-effective solutions, driven by artificial intelligence (AI).

Leveraging its leadership as a tech innovator, Paytm will also set up a development center in GIFT City to build the above solutions and provide a technology backbone.

This center will create jobs and house engineers to develop a suite of world-class financial products and services.

“GIFT City is set to become a global financial hub, further putting India on the world map for innovation,

“The strategic investment in GIFT City represents a pivotal step towards building an AI-driven cross-border remittance and payments technology landscape, presenting global opportunities. This will enable us to deliver fast, reliable, and cost-effective remittance solutions, reducing friction, at a global scale,” said Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Paytm.

“We are excited about GIFT City serving as an exemplary innovation hub for cross-border activities, enabling overseas investors the flexibility to maintain foreign currency accounts,

“Furthermore, we intend to leverage this investment to establish a dedicated development center,” he added.

Paytm is India’s leading payments and financial services company and the pioneer of QR, soundbox and mobile payments.

Pioneer of the mobile QR payments revolution in India, Paytm builds technologies that help small businesses with payments and commerce.

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