Fintech and digital payments are back in the spotlight after Meta tapped Cred founder Kunal Shah to lead WhatsApp and bought a 20% stake in Cred for US$900 million, a deal that values the startup at US$4.5b. That combination points to a stronger push into payments and commerce, especially in high usage markets like India. For investors, the question is how this shift could influence listed companies connected to digital wallets, payment rails and financial software. This article unpacks three stocks from our Fintech and Digital Payments screener that appear positively exposed to this WhatsApp and Cred story.

One97 Communications (NSEI:PAYTM)

Overview: One97 Communications, better known as Paytm, runs a broad digital finance platform that lets consumers and merchants in India and a few overseas markets pay, borrow, invest, insure, trade and manage money through its app, payment gateway and in-store devices. Beyond payments, Paytm also supports merchants with marketing, ticketing, loyalty tools and a cloud-based lending and collections platform.

Operations: Paytm currently generates all reported revenue of ₹84,370 million from data processing services in India, tied to payment processing and related digital financial services.

Market Cap: ₹696.5 billion

Investors looking at Paytm in light of Meta’s renewed fintech push may see a company already deeply embedded in India’s digital payments rails, with a mix of UPI, QR devices and credit products that ties it into millions of everyday transactions. The return to profitability, growing buy-now-pay-later and teen-focused products like Paytm Pocket Money illustrate how management is trying to turn high engagement into higher value per customer, even as regulators and competition from PhonePe, Google Pay and now a more payment-focused WhatsApp keep the pressure on. The tension between strong digital adoption, ambitious expansion into credit and wealth, and a still-demanding valuation is where the real investment debate on One97 Communications begins.

Paytm’s expansion from payments into credit and wealth makes the story far bigger than QR codes alone. Yet the real hinge of the thesis may sit inside one focused upgrade, so start with the 3 key rewards and 1 important major warning sign

One MobiKwik Systems (NSEI:MOBIKWIK)

Overview: One MobiKwik Systems runs a digital payments and consumer finance platform in India, offering a wallet, Pocket UPI, bill payments, buy now pay later style credit, personal loans, fixed deposits, mutual funds, digital gold and tools like Lens.ai to help users track and manage money. It also provides merchants with QR codes, point of sale devices and online checkout to accept payments and access working capital.

Operations: MobiKwik currently reports all revenue of ₹11,192.32 million from Financial And Payment Services.

Market Cap: ₹15.4 billion

Investors watching Meta’s renewed fintech push may view One MobiKwik Systems as a smaller but focused way to tap India’s shift toward app based payments and credit, with UPI led user growth feeding into higher value products such as MobiKwik ZIP and merchant lending. The company recently reported quarterly profit of ₹43.84 million, yet still recorded a full year loss of ₹621.01 million. As a result, the path to consistent profitability, funding its loan book without customer deposits and managing fraud and regulatory risks remain central questions. With a relatively low P/S multiple, fresh RBI approvals for offline payment aggregation and new businesses such as Zaakpay and broking under development, the key issue is how these pieces will operate together as WhatsApp, Cred and other rivals compete for India’s next wave of digital spenders.

One MobiKwik Systems sits at an interesting crossroads, with UPI driven usage and new businesses like Zaakpay and broking raising fresh questions about what the market is really pricing in. Before this story moves on, take a look at the analysis report for One MobiKwik Systems

PayPay (PAYP)

Overview: PayPay operates a broad digital finance platform in Japan, letting users pay, borrow, invest and manage money through the PayPay app, while offering merchants payment acceptance, credit options and value added services like insurance and marketing tools.

Operations: PayPay generates payment segment revenue of ¥308.8 billion and financial services revenue of ¥71.7 billion, with total revenue of ¥377.8 billion almost entirely from Japan.

Market Cap: ¥9.9 billion

Investors comparing global fintech platforms may find PayPay interesting because it pairs a large Japanese payments franchise with high profitability, including net income of ¥115,034 million, a 30.5% margin and earnings growth of 218% over the past year. Earnings are forecast to grow 9.86% per year and return on equity is expected to be high at 22%. The stock trades on a P/E of 13.2x, which is described as being below both peers and the US Diversified Financial industry average, and 23.4% below one fair value estimate. The catch is that all this sits on a capital structure funded entirely by external borrowing rather than customer deposits, which may increase financial risk as PayPay expands deeper into payments, investments and insurance.

High margins, a 13.2x P/E and a fully debt funded balance sheet make PayPay look like a powerful yet misunderstood payments platform, so the real twist may sit inside the 4 key rewards and 1 important warning sign

The three stocks in this article are only a starting point, with the full Fintech and Digital Payments screener surfacing 38 more companies that carry equally compelling fintech and digital payments narratives. Use Simply Wall St to identify and analyze the specific catalysts and storylines that matter to you, so you can focus on the highest conviction opportunities across this theme.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.