Paytm Shares Drop Over 4% Ahead Of Payments Bank Deadline

Shares of Paytm’s parent entity One97 Communications extended decline on Thursday (March 14), dropping over 4% ahead of the March 15 deadline for Paytm Payments Bank services.

At 9:15 am, Paytm shares were trading at INR 335.8 on the BSE, marking a 4.5% decrease from the previous close of INR 351.90.

Following a substantial decline of over 60% since January 31, the company’s shares rebounded towards the end of February. On February 21, Paytm’s shares opened 5% higher, reaching the upper circuit at INR 395.25 on the BSE. The positive trend continued as Paytm shares reached the upper circuit on February 23.

As of 11:59 am, shares of Paytm were trading at 347.05 on BSE.

Paytm’s stock faced a downturn after January 31 when the RBI imposed stringent restrictions on Paytm Payments Bank. The central bank has set a March 15 deadline for the payments bank to stop all deposits or credit transactions or top-ups in any of its customer accounts. It has also barred the payments bank from offering other banking services, such as UPI facility and fund transfers post March 15.

On January 31, Paytm was trading at INR 761 on the BSE.

Meanwhile, in February, several mutual funds completely sold off their holdings in One97 Communications Ltd, with others significantly reducing their stakes. The divestment totalled over 91 Lakh shares valued at INR 380 Cr due to a decline in the stock price following regulatory actions by the RBI.

Currently, 18 mutual funds hold Paytm shares worth INR 1,426 Cr, down from 24 mutual funds in January. Notable divestments include Mahindra Manulife Mutual Fund selling 15.16 lakh shares, Quant Mutual Fund disposing of 6.13 lakh shares, and Bajaj Finserv MF selling 2.1 lakh shares.

The extension in Paytm’s loses follows the State Bank of India’s recent partnership with the fintech major for consumer UPI payments.

Earlier, Paytm’s UPI services were powered by Paytm Payments Bank Limited (PPBL). However, after regulatory action by the RBI, Paytm has been seeking partnerships to operate as a third-party application provider (TPAP), akin to competitors like PhonePe and Google Pay.

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) is expected to grant TPAP license to One97 Communications, the parent company of Paytm, by March 15. Reportedly NPCI has completed most of the TPAP checks for Paytm. With this license, the fintech giant can continue offering Unified Payments Interface (UPI) services to its app users.

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