Pai Platforms, sponsored by Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma, has launched a new shopping app on Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC). The PaiPai app was created by One97 Communications, the parent firm of the fintech, according to a report published on the news portal Moneycontrol. Paytm, meanwhile, is not a shareholder in Pai Platform.

Paytm E-commerce Private Limited bought Bengaluru-based Bitsila, an ONDC seller-side platform, in February and rebranded as Pai Platforms.

The choice to launch the e-commerce app may have been influenced by the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) recent action against its banking unit, Paytm Payments Bank Limited, according to the article, which cited industry analysts.

The PPBL was prohibited by the apex bank from taking deposits or top-ups in any client accounts, prepaid cards, wallets, FASTags, or NCMC cards after February 29, 2024, as of January 31, 2024. Media sources state that the RBI was concerned about the PPBL breaking norms related to KYC and other regulations.

Sharma's remarks from the previous year, in which he stated that e-commerce is a logical expansion for the business, were also included in the study. "We are committing to sign up at least 10 million merchants on ONDC before 2025 ends," he had stated.

During his speech at the ceremony, he mentioned that 11.8 million consumers had already used Paytm to buy on ONDC. This indicates that ONDC is already a major force in the e-commerce industry. Over a quarter of India's 50 million e-commerce consumers are already registered with ONDC, the speaker continued.

According to the newspaper, Sharma further stated that ONDC will create several prospects for e-commerce. 

The business operated its online store under the name Paytm Mall before changing its name to Pai Platforms. In early 2018, this division of the business raised $400 million at a valuation of more than $2 billion from investors including Alibaba and SoftBank.