How a Young Man Who Once Rented a Generator Built a Rs 125 Crore Turnover Fintech Business

Starting his business from a small 8x10 sq. ft. rented room in Okhla Vihar, Delhi, to building EzeePay, a fintech company with a turnover of Rs 125 crore, the journey of Shams Tabrej is an inspiring one.

Born in a middle-class family in Bihar’s Araria district, Shams grew up in a joint family where his father ran a fertiliser shop. Life was going on smoothly until a property division in 1999 left his father with a smaller share. That’s when Shams realised the financial reality of their home.

Shams Tabrej’s EzeePay now serves over 5 lakh merchants across 10,000+ pin codes in India (Photos: Special Arrangement)

“Until then, I used to think that my father had a good amount of money, as we were eating and wearing well. But that year, I realised that my father was earning well to run daily expenses, but the family wasn’t saving anything,” he recalls.

The realisation hit harder when his mother needed an urgent operation, and his father did not have Rs 25,000 for the treatment. “Since my father was hardly saving, he did not have Rs 25,000 to get the operation done. So my mother suggested mortgaging her gold ornaments,” says Shams.


This was a turning point in his life. At just 18, he decided to return from Patna, where he was preparing for competitive exams, to support his family.

His mother had her surgery in Siliguri, West Bengal. To support their finances, the family decided to rent out a portion of their house to Allahabad Bank, which set up a branch there.

While spending time at home, Shams frequently interacted with the bank’s branch manager, Rajendra Pandit. During one of their discussions, the manager sounded out an idea that led to Shams earning his first income.

The bank required a generator for power backup as Araria faced frequent power cuts. The manager suggested, “We hire a generator and pay hourly rent for it. You have a generator at home, why don’t you rent it to us at Rs 30 per hour?”

Shams ventured into fintech inspired by Paytm

Shams immediately grabbed the opportunity and started earning Rs 270-300 per day for about 8-9 hours of generator usage. After deducting Rs 150 for diesel expenses, the rest was his earnings. This marked his first step into business.

A short while later, he noticed a villager carrying a 12-volt battery on his bicycle to get it charged in Purnia, a nearby town. An idea clicked, and he decided to invest Rs 3,200 in a heavy-duty battery charger.

This allowed him to start charging batteries for nearby shopkeepers, earning Rs 400-500 per month at Rs 3 per battery. Instead of spending the money, he saved it to reclaim his mother’s mortgaged jewellery. “Our entire family cried that day out of emotions,” he recalls.

By then, Shams had already developed an entrepreneurial mindset. Though he had left full-time studies due to financial struggles, he enrolled in a correspondence B.Com course from Patna College and completed his graduation in 2005.

His small businesses - battery charging, generator rentals, and later mobile repairs - were running well. By the end of 2005, he saw another opportunity and started selling Airtel SIM cards as a new mobile tower was set up in his area.

For this, he took the first and last loan of Rs 10,000 from his father. “I purchased five Nokia phones - one for myself and four for my friends - and started the business.”

By 2007, he took the distributorship of Airtel and later Vodafone, made record sales and earned rewards, including a TV and refrigerator. He gifted these to his sister for her wedding in 2010.

In 2011, the Government of India launched customer care centres for the State Bank of India under the then Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh’s initiative. Sensing an opportunity, Shams bought a centre for Rs 25,000 - the first in his district.

He actively promoted it by making announcements through a loudspeaker on a tempo (three-wheeler). The centre had software to open zero-balance accounts and allow cash withdrawals via biometrics.

From 2012 to 2017, the business was thriving, but in 2017, disaster struck. The Seemanchal area suffered a massive flood, devastating local businesses.

Shams also suffered losses, but he stayed strong, following his father’s advice: “Always be connected to the people from whom you have borrowed money, maintain trust, and always keep the strong intention of paying back.”

Instead of giving up, he started researching digital payments and closely studied Paytm’s business model. Inspired by its founder, Vijay Shekhar Sharma, who also came from a humble background, Shams decided to enter the fintech space.

In 2017, he took a distributorship with a digital payments company that worked on AEPS (Aadhaar-enabled payment system). He personally onboarded 2,900 retailers in just 3.5 months in Bihar, and in the process gained deep insights into the fintech industry.

Armed with this knowledge, he decided to launch his own digital payments company.

On 15th August 2018, Shams and his younger brother, Rashid Ali, founded EzeePay with just Rs 10,000 borrowed from their father. “People suggested I start from Bihar, but I was clear that I wanted to build a national company and not a regional one,” says Shams.

They rented a small 8x10 sq. ft. room in Okhla Vihar, Delhi, near the metro station, for a monthly rent of Rs 6,000 and started their business.

Shams Tabrej and the EzeePay team - building a Rs 125 crore fintech success, one transaction at a time!

EzeePay grew rapidly. It is now a leading B2B fintech company serving over 5 lakh merchants across 10,000+ pin codes in India.

The company provides AEPS-based money transfers, bill payments, mobile and DTH recharges, travel bookings, and neo-banking services. EzeePay primarily generates its revenue through partnerships with banks, earning a commission on every transaction processed on its platform.

The business has flourished, with a daily average financial transaction of Rs 2 lakh. While 90% of the business comes from Tier 2, 3, and 4 cities, 10% comes from urban areas.

Shams faced several challenges while setting up EzeePay. “Our competitors were mostly IITians and bankers, while I was a desi man from a small place who wasn’t well-versed in spoken English. But my strength was good communication skills in Hindi and strong networking. So I majored in that, and it worked wonders,” he says.

Understanding the gaps in customer service in existing fintech companies, he introduced a system where one customer care executive was assigned for every 100 retailers to improve service quality. He also ensured that agents received better commissions than competitors.

In 2022, a rival company complained to the federation of digital payment companies that EzeePay had not taken its membership. Shams tackled the issue head-on. “I met the federation directly and informed them that I didn’t know about it. The issue was easily sorted,” he says.

Today, EzeePay has its headquarters in a 4,000 sq. ft. office in Delhi, with branches in Noida and Kolkata, employing around 100 people. Shams manages the sales and business development, while his brother Rashid Ali looks after the technical side.

Rashid Ali, Shams' brother looks after the technical operations

His wife, Dilakash Aara, plays a crucial role in business operations. “I told my wife that you can manage an office like you manage your home, children, and kitchen. She tried, and it worked,” he says. The couple live in Delhi with their three children.

His advice to young entrepreneurs is simple: “Don’t stop, keep doing, and you will get the results. One thing young entrepreneurs should keep in mind is not to be quick in setting up things and then closing them down. Keep working and think about how things could be executed better.”

From renting out a generator in his small town to running a Rs 125 crore fintech company, Shams Tabrej’s story proves that with determination, resilience, and a clear vision, anything is possible.- ©TWL