An Exclusive Interview with Mahesh Shukla, Founder & CEO of PayMe
Mahesh Shukla, Founder and CEO of PayMe, shares his journey of revolutionizing digital lending through technology-driven solutions that empower individuals, enhance financial accessibility, and pave the way for a more inclusive and transparent financial ecosystem in India.
PayMe has been a key player in India’s digital lending space. How would you describe your journey so far and what differentiates PayMe from other NBFC–Fintech players?
Mahesh Shukla: My journey has been incredibly fulfilling and deeply personal. When I started PayMe in 2016, it wasn’t just about building a Fintech lending company; it was about solving a real lending problem I had witnessed up close.
People with steady incomes, even those working in established MNCs, struggled to access timely credit. That gap pushed me to create a digital-first, transparent, and ethical Fintech lending platform.
From a bootstrapped startup, PayMe has grown into a robust fintech ecosystem, disbursing over ₹2,100 crore in loans and empowering millions of Indians.
What sets us apart is our philosophy, we don’t just lend; we help people build credit health. Our Credit Assist product, for instance, helps individuals improve their creditworthiness rather than simply rejecting them. This focus on education, transparency, and responsible lending defines who we are.
How do you see PayMe contributing to India’s financial inclusion agenda, especially for underserved segments?
Mahesh Shukla: Financial inclusion goes beyond giving loans; it’s about creating awareness, responsibility, and opportunity. At PayMe, we are deeply focused on reaching India’s unbanked segments, or where lending is an obstacle, especially in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities.
Through our Credit Assist initiative and partnerships with banks, NBFCs, and state governments, we’re helping first-time borrowers understand credit, manage it wisely, and grow financially.
Our goal is not just to give access to funds, but to give access to financial confidence. When people understand how to build and manage their credit, they move from dependence to empowerment, and that’s true financial inclusion.
The RBI’s digital lending guidelines have brought significant changes to the fintech landscape. How has PayMe aligned its operations with these evolving regulations?
Mahesh Shukla: The RBI’s digital lending framework has been instrumental in shaping a more transparent and responsible fintech ecosystem and we wholeheartedly welcome it. As an RBI-registered NBFC, we’ve always operated with compliance and ethics at the forefront.
At PayMe, we have an in-house compliance team that ensures every process from loan disbursal and customer data management to even the information shared on our social channels aligns with regulatory norms.
Each piece of communication or transaction goes through a stringent review to ensure it meets the highest standards of integrity.
In fact, the new RBI guidelines didn’t disrupt our model—they validated it. We’ve always believed that sustainable fintech growth comes from doing things the right way, with complete accountability and transparency.
What advice would you give to emerging fintechs looking to build sustainable and compliant business models?
Mahesh Shukla: My advice is simple focus on solving a real problem before you focus on raising capital. Fintech is not about flashy valuations; it’s about trust, reliability, and consistency.
Entrepreneurs must understand their users, build the right product, and aim for early profitability. Compliance and governance should be non-negotiable these are not speed bumps but safety rails that allow you to scale confidently.
If your foundation is built on transparency and genuine value creation, growth will follow naturally.
How do you handle setbacks or failures, and what have they taught you about resilience?
Mahesh Shukla: In PayMe’s early years, one of the biggest challenges wasn’t building the technology it was getting people, especially investors, to believe in what we were building.
Everyone wanted to see fast growth and flashy numbers, but I’ve always believed that real success comes from a strong product and a clear market fit, not just funding rounds.
So instead of chasing investors, we focused on chasing excellence, understanding our customers better, refining our lending models, and proving that ethical and transparent finance can scale.
It took time, but once the product started performing and customers began trusting us, belief followed naturally from the market and from investors alike.
The fintech industry moves fast—how do you personally stay motivated and adaptable amid constant change?
Mahesh Shukla: My motivation comes from impact. Every story of a customer whose life was made a little easier because of PayMe that’s what keeps me going. Knowing that our work has real meaning beyond numbers gives me immense satisfaction.
On a personal level, I start my mornings with black tea, pranayama, and time with my children, it helps me stay grounded and positive. I also make it a habit to read regularly.
Zero to One by Peter Thiel, for instance, deeply influenced my perspective on innovation and leadership. It taught me that growth isn’t about doing more of the same it’s about doing something different, something better.
In a fast-changing industry like fintech, curiosity and adaptability are everything. I stay open to learning every single day because the moment you stop learning, you stop leading.
With his forward-thinking leadership, Mahesh Shukla continues to drive PayMe toward redefining financial empowerment, blending innovation with trust to create a future where credit accessibility, financial literacy, and digital transformation work hand in hand for every Indian.
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