Paytm rolls out food wallet to take on Sodexo & Ticket Restaurant

Paytm has launched Food Wallet feature on its app, which allows companies to offer tax-free food allowance to its employees. The wallet meant precisely for corporates will compete directly with existing players like Sodexo and Ticket Restaurant which issue physical coupons at present.

Using Paytm's new feature, employers can directly add money to the wallets of their employees daily, monthly or quarterly. "The Paytm Food Wallet can be easily redeemed at office cafeterias and a wide range of online and physical merchants. The list includes KFC, Burger King, Zomato, Pizza Hut, Café Coffee Day and Big Bazaar among others. In addition to the ease and convenience, employees will also enjoy added benefits like exclusive deals, discounts and cashbacks," Paytm said in an official blog post.

"The biggest incentive for corporates to use our Food Wallet is the convenience it offers. Employers can use their laptops to instantly transfer money to food wallets of employees based anywhere in the country without any hassles of procuring, handling and distributing bulky coupons and cards. The Food Wallet comes with the complete suite of in-app security features available on Paytm such as app lock password, two-factor authentication and passcode among others," Kiran Vasireddy, senior vice president at Paytm told ET.

The Food Wallet feature is tucked under the Passbook option on the Paytm app. Also, one can locate the closest food outlet using the ‘nearby’ feature on the app. The wallet credit also supports online food ordering from platforms such as Swiggy and Zomato. Employees will also be offered exclusive deals, discounts, and cash back as part of the Food Wallet, the company said.

The feature is currently live in over 10 corporate offices.