Paytm To Reapply For Payment Aggregator Licence: Vijay Shekhar Sharma

Shares of fintech giant Paytm climbed over 2% during early trading hours today after founder and managing director Vijay Shekhar Sharma reiterated the company’s intention to resubmit application for a payment aggregator (PA) licence with the Reserve Bank of India.

“We will apply for a payment aggregator licence with RBI in due course,” Sharma said at Paytm’s 24th annual general meeting.

The Paytm CEO also reiterated the company’s commitment to focus on its core payment business and cross-selling financial services like loans, mutual funds and insurance products, as it seeks to achieve profitability. In its Q1 FY25 earnings statement, Paytm had said that it is eyeing at least one profitable quarter this fiscal year.

This comes days after Paytm received approval from the Centre, the finance ministry and the department of financial services to invest INR 50 Cr in its payments arm, Paytm Payments Services Limited (PPSL).

In an exchange filing, the company then said that it would reapply for a payment aggregator licence with India’s banking regulator.

It is pertinent to note that Paytm incorporated Paytm Payment Services to secure a PA licence. While the company initially tried to get the PA licence in 2020, the RBI directed it to resubmit the application to ensure compliance with the FDI rules. 

At Paytm’s 2024 AGM, Sharma also said that the company is committed to integrate artificial intelligence into its core payment business as it seeks to cut operating costs. Paytm previously said that it aims to reduce employee costs by an estimated INR 400-500 Cr every year.

Paytm saw its consolidated net loss widen 134% year-on-year to INR 840.1 C in the June quarter (Q1) of the financial year 2024-25 (FY25) as compared to INR 358.4 Cr in the year ago-period.

Revenue from operations also declined 36% in Q1 FY25 to INR 1,502 Cr from INR 2,342 Cr in the corresponding quarter last year.

Paytm’s payment business revenue stood at INR 900 Cr during the quarter under review, which took a hit due to disruption of Paytm Payments Bank products, among other things, the company had said in its Q1 FY25 earnings release.