Paytm began its journey in 2010 as a mobile app-based utility payments facilitator. It was founded by One97 Communications founder-promoter Vijay Shekhar Sharma. Its biggest break came in 2016 when the BJP government, at the stroke of midnight, declared demonetisation on November 8, banning with immediate effect currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denominations. Overnight, the company became a house-hold name while demonetisation reportedly helped it earn revenues of more than Rs 813 crore in the fiscal ending March 2017, as it saw a steep surge in its wallet user base from 150 million to 200 million, whereas common citizens found their hard-earned money to have become worthless and were forced to stand in queues for hours before banks to deposit old currency notes.