Paytm, the India-based mobile wallet service, announced a $1 billion equity round that will be used to expand into new financial service models.

The investment round was led by a group that included funds advised by T. Rowe Price Associates Inc., as well as existing investors Ant Financial, Softbank Vision Fund. Discovery Capital, another existing shareholder, participated in the round. 

"At Paytm, we are committed to bringing a half billion Indians to the mainstream economy by onboarding them in the formal financial ecosystem," founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma said in a blogpost. "This new investment by our current and new investors is a reaffirmation of our commitment to serve Indians with new age financial services."

Paytm serves merchants in more than 2,000 cities and towns spanning across 650 districts, providing low-cost digital payment acceptance using QR-code technology. The company is planning to expand its financial services offering to include lending, insurance, investments and stock investing to the mass market. 

The company also plans to expand its content offering through Paytm Inbox, providing gaming, news, video and other content.