Deepak Chand Thakur & NPST: Architecting India's Multi-Trillion Dollar Digital Payments Future
Discover Deepak Chand Thakur, the visionary CEO of NPST, and his journey building a fintech powerhouse from scratch. Insights, financials, and future plans.
He’s the CEO and Co-founder of Network People Services Technologies Ltd. (NPST), a company quietly yet powerfully shaping India's digital payment backbone. Deepak Chand Thakur's journey with NPST is a compelling narrative of strategic foresight, relentless execution, and a deep understanding of India's complex fintech landscape. It’s a story of bootstrapping, pivoting, and eventually, stellar public market success.
I recently had the privilege of hosting Deepak on the Founder Thesis podcast, where we delved deep into his entrepreneurial path, NPST's evolution, the intricacies of the Indian payment ecosystem, and his vision for the future. It was a masterclass in building a resilient, IP-driven fintech organization.
Check out the video of the conversation here or read on for insights.
The Man Behind the Mission: Deepak Chand Thakur 👨💼
Deepak Chand Thakur, isn't just another name in the Indian fintech space; he's one of its key architects. With approximately 18 years of rich experience in building technology-driven businesses, his career is a testament to a long-standing commitment to the technology and financial services sectors.
🚀 Early Career & Formative Experiences
Before co-founding NPST, Deepak honed his skills at prominent firms like Frost & Sullivan and Spanco Ltd. At Frost & Sullivan, he functioned as a Senior Research Analyst, and at Spanco, he was the General Manager - Strategy. These roles were instrumental, involving advising startups on strategy, supporting Fortune 500 companies in business development, crafting business plans, research papers for major corporations, and white papers for tech giants. He was deeply involved in understanding market dynamics, from the 2G/3G evolution and internet penetration in India to the National E-Governance Plan. This pre-entrepreneurial phase equipped him with a crucial foundation in strategic thinking, market analysis, and an understanding of how technology could solve real-world business problems – particularly in the banking and financial sector.
One pivotal experience was his involvement with the launch of SBI Freedom, a mobile banking app, during his time at Spanco. This project, coupled with his research into the burgeoning mobile and internet penetration, solidified his conviction about the impending digital shift.
💡 The Entrepreneurial Leap: Identifying the Fintech Chasm
The decision to become an entrepreneur, as Deepak shared, wasn't an accident but "happened very late". Around 2013, driven by the realization that many of his innovative ideas weren't finding traction in existing setups ("no one listening to it" ), and seeing the confluence of rising internet and smartphone penetration, the launch of the iPhone, and government initiatives like the National E-Governance Plan, he felt an undeniable pull.
He saw a "critical technology gap between NPCI and banks" and envisioned a company that could "deliver digital payment technology across the financial value chain". At the age of 30-31, he took the plunge with his co-founders, telling his wife,
Let's try it once. If at all we fail, we fail once and then I have lot of time to recover.
NPST was thus born, initially as Network People Services Technologies, with the idea to "create a network of service delivery centers by use of technology to serve people".
🌟 Leadership Philosophy & Vision: Innovation, Resilience, and a "REAL" Culture
Deepak's leadership is underscored by a philosophy of "prioritising innovation over valuations" and "creating IP-driven value and fostering resilience". He is a creative strategist with a proven ability to optimize team dynamics and unite diverse agendas towards common goals. His vision for NPST is to be a key enabler in India's digital payment infrastructure, connecting the "national highways for payments with villages, with cities, with towns".
He believes in harnessing technology, particularly AI, to drive financial inclusion and fundamentally transform India's banking infrastructure. A significant aspect of his approach is creating a "Great Place to Work," emphasizing a "REAL culture" – likely an acronym for Respect, Empathy, Alignment, and Learning/Leadership. This focus on an empowered and motivated workforce is strategic, enabling the IP-driven solutions NPST aims to deliver. He was formally appointed CEO in October 2024, a move that perhaps formalized his leadership role ahead of NPST's planned transition to the NSE and BSE mainboards.
NPST: Architecting India's Digital Payment Future 🏦
Network People Services Technologies Ltd. (NPST) was co-founded in 2013 by Deepak Chand Thakur, Ashish Aggarwal (a CA ICWA by qualification ), and Savita Vashist. It emerged when India's financial sector was on the cusp of a massive digital transformation.
🌉 The Genesis: Bridging the Gap for Banks and Fintechs
NPST's core mission was clear: "to deliver financial technology solutions across the financial value chain—serving banks, fintechs, and other industry players and to drive the growth of the digital payments ecosystem". The company initially focused on building foundational software for banks, including solutions for UPI, Immediate Payment Service (IMPS), and mobile banking. Recognizing the dynamic nature of the fintech world, NPST expanded its offerings to provide Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) and operational tools for fintech firms needing access to banking systems.
🛠️ Bootstrapped Beginnings & Strategic Pivots: From Aadhaar Enrollments to Core Fintech
NPST started as a bootstrapped organization, operating from a modest space. A key early strategy involved Citizen Service Kendras (CSKs), also known as Common Service Centers, to participate in the Aadhaar registration process. This wasn't just a side venture; it was a calculated move to generate crucial revenue. Deepak shared that they "did about one crore Aadhaar [enrollments]", which provided a "great revenue booster". At around ₹25-26 per enrollment, with NPST retaining 10-15%, this venture generated the essential cash flow that was reinvested into developing NPST's core digital payment platform. This resourceful approach, as Deepak emphasized, was about "working on the operating margin" and avoiding debt or extensive early dilution. The "NPST that you're seeing right now actually started at the end of 2015 odd," Deepak noted, with the initial two years serving as a "feeder to actually build NPST".
🎯 The Problem NPST Solves: Empowering the Ecosystem
NPST addresses the "critical technology gap between NPCI and banks", enabling banks, especially smaller public sector banks, cooperative banks, and Regional Rural Banks (RRBs), to navigate their digital transformation journey. Many of these institutions face limitations in financial resources and technical expertise. NPST tackles this by "lowering technology and cost barriers".
Our job is to ensure that the entire upkeep or entire effort around scaling the digital payments and achieving the technology target between banks and NPCI is met.
🧩 Core Offerings & Technology Prowess
NPST boasts a suite of advanced, AI/ML-leveraged solutions:
Payment Platform-as-a-Service (PPaaS): This is a cornerstone, allowing clients to access sophisticated payment infrastructure on an operational expenditure model rather than heavy upfront capital costs. NPST takes end-to-end responsibility, from technology to operations. This segment accounts for a significant 70-80% of NPST's revenue.
UPI, IMPS, & Banking SuperApps: NPST provides robust solutions for UPI and IMPS. Their AI-enabled Banking SuperApps (like Evok 3.0) empower banks to offer a unified digital experience. A testament to their capability is their work with Canara Bank, processing over 5.5 crore (55 million) transactions daily on the platform they manage, which has evolved from SMS-based banking to a microservices architecture and now a SuperApp.
Offline & Merchant Solutions: Through its Qynx platform and QR-integrated SoundBox devices, NPST facilitates digital payment acceptance for offline and rural merchants.
AI/ML in Risk Intelligence & RegTech: NPST is heavily investing in AI/ML for sophisticated risk intelligence and regulatory technology (RegTech) platforms. Deepak highlighted their focus on building a single engine for any compliance and regulatory requirement for operating a payment ecosystem, moving beyond pre-transaction fraud risk management to post-transaction compliance.
NPST's Growth Trajectory & Financial Milestones 🚀
NPST's journey from a bootstrapped entity to a publicly listed company preparing for its mainboard debut is remarkable.
📈 The Journey to Public Markets: From SME IPO to Mainboard
Facing challenges in raising private funds despite a strong belief in their model, NPST took the unconventional route of an SME IPO on the NSE in August 2021. Deepak shared that at the time of the IPO decision (around 2020), their revenue was about 17 crore, and they did 19 crore in the IPO year (FY21). They were valued at approximately 50 crore rupees for the IPO.
The market response was phenomenal.
At its peak, NPST's market capitalization touched nearly 5,000 crore rupees.
Even amidst market fluctuations, it hovered around 4,000 crore rupees around the time of our podcast discussion.
This represented an almost 9,000% return for early investors.
The company also issued 2:1 bonus shares after a strong performance in FY23 (revenue grew from 41 cr to 130 cr).
NPST has received approvals to move to the NSE and BSE mainboards, expected in mid-2025.
📊 Stellar Financial Performance
NPST's financial numbers speak volumes about its growth and profitability:
FY24 Revenue: Reached 130.08 crore rupees, a staggering 216% year-on-year (YoY) increase.
FY24 Net Profit: Surged by 310% YoY to 26.71 crore rupees.
H1 FY25 Performance: Revenue was already nearing the entirety of FY24's figures, indicating continued strong momentum.
Profitability (Q1-Q3 FY24): Deepak shared impressive margins during our podcast, with EBITDA around 30-35% and PAT (Profit After Tax) around 20-25%.
Revenue Composition: The bulk, about 70-80%, comes from their PPaaS model serving fintechs and merchants via banks, while 20-25% is derived from direct license/SaaS-based solutions for banks.
The Road Ahead: NPST 2.0 and Beyond 🧭
NPST is not resting on its laurels. Deepak outlined their 'NPST 2.0 strategy,' which aims at further transformation and growth.
🔭 Strategic Vision: Expanding Horizons NPST plans to expand into high-potential verticals like embedded finance, AI-driven risk and compliance solutions, and B2B bill payments. These areas represent a combined market opportunity estimated at approximately $50 billion within India.
🌍 Global Aspirations: Taking Indian Fintech Expertise Worldwide A key component of their future is international expansion, beginning with an office in Dubai. Deepak passionately spoke about the potential for Indian fintech companies, deeply familiar with UPI's success, to take these innovations global.
🏛️ Commitment to Governance and Transparency Even while on the SME board, NPST adopted mainboard practices like quarterly result declarations (instead of half-yearly) and providing guidance to shareholders. Deepak emphasized his personal commitment to conducting quarterly investor calls, accepting mistakes, and sharing progress openly. This focus is crucial as they prepare for the mainboard and aim to attract larger institutional investors.
Final Thoughts: A Testament to Vision and Execution ✨
Deepak Chand Thakur and NPST's journey is more than just a business success story; it's emblematic of India's broader fintech revolution. From a bootstrapped startup navigating the complexities of government projects to a publicly listed company powering a significant chunk of India's digital transactions, NPST has demonstrated remarkable agility, innovation, and resilience.
Their story underscores how deep domain expertise, a clear vision to solve critical ecosystem gaps, and a relentless focus on execution can build a fundamentally strong and highly valuable enterprise, even in a landscape often characterized by "free" services. NPST is not just a participant but a key enabler, building the vital technological arteries for India's digital economy.
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