SUMMARY
Paytm Payments Bank has close to 60 Mn bank account holders
The company aims to reach 10 Mn digital debit cards by the end of 2021
Paytm Payments Bank had started off with RuPay debit card
Paytm Payments Bank has partnered with global financial services giant Mastercard to issue virtual and physical debit cards to its customers.
Last month, the banking arm of Paytm had announced that it would start issuing the Visa debit cards to the customers. Following the same lines, the payments bank will issue both virtual and physical debit cards powered by Visa.
Paytm Payments Bank had first announced its partnered with financial service Visa last year. Visa CEO, Alfred F. Kelly, in a call with analysts last year, said, “We are working with Paytm Payments Bank to offer our debit credential solutions to enhance their offerings to their rapidly expanding customer base.”
With the virtual debit cards, Paytm Payments Bank customers will be able to perform online transactions across various platforms. The card will work like any other physical debit card. Meanwhile, the physical debit card can be used to make offline payments and will support Mastercard’s chip-based technology. The cards will be available for all banking customers.
Paytm Payments Bank has close to 60 Mn bank account holders and 300 Mn digital wallets users. The company aims to issue over 10 Mn digital debit cards by the end of 2021.
Paytm Payments Bank CEO and managing director Satish Kumar said, “We aim to provide maximum flexibility to our customers to choose their preferred mode of digital payments, and our partnership with Mastercard is in the same direction.”
The company has also assured that it will provide “highest levels” of security for digital transactions by leveraging its mobile and artificial intelligence tool. Paytm Payments Bank has also announced that the customers will now be able to withdraw cash at more than 1 Mn ATMs across the world.
Paytm Payments bank had started issuing debit cards in 2017, after collaborating with RuPay. Back then, Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma had announced that the Paytm RuPay debit card would come with an array of Platinum benefits, including discounts and cashbacks across most online merchants. The card will be issued to all Paytm Payments Bank account holders at the time of account opening, Sharma had added.
The company was also offering free insurance cover of up to INR 2 Lakh in the incident of death or permanent total disability, along with the debit card.
Founded in 2017, Paytm Payments Bank is the first profitable arm of Sharma-led One 97 Communications. The company turned profitable in financial year 2019, recording INR 19 Cr in profits. In FY18, the company had incurred a loss of INR 51.42 Cr.
