Paytm shares hit upper circuit on govt nod for investment in payments arm

The stock price surged on the back of reports claiming that the company had received the government nod to invest Rs 50 crore in its associate entity Paytm Payments Services Limited (PPSL)

Shares of One97 Communications (OCL), the company that operates the brand Paytm, hit the upper circuit as the stock price surged 10 per cent to Rs 509.05 on Friday.

The stock price surged on the back of reports claiming that the company had received government approval to invest Rs 50 crore in its associate entity Paytm Payments Services Limited (PPSL).

According to a source close to the development, with the latest development, the firm will be able to approach the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to seek a payment aggregator licence.

This will be a long-pending relief after the government had approached the company citing Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) guidelines of past investments from OCL to PPSL nearly two years ago.

 

The banking regulator had returned PPSL’s application to become a payment aggregator in November 2022.

With a payment aggregator licence, the fintech firm will be able to onboard new online merchants on its platform.

In a blog published last year, the company had said it continued with its online payment aggregation business for existing partners, without onboarding any new merchants.

The relief comes as the firm’s associate entity Paytm Payments Bank has faced crippling restrictions from the RBI in January this year.

Paytm's losses had widened to Rs 839 crore in the quarter ended June 30, due to the continued impact of restrictions on Paytm Payments Bank.

Its loss for the same period last year was Rs 357 crore. Sequentially, the company reported a higher loss from Rs 549.6 crore in Q4 FY24.

The loss for the Noida-based fintech company comes on the back of a contraction in revenue from payments and financial services for the company.

Vijay Shekhar Sharma, the founder and chief executive officer, however, said the company will deliver one profitable quarter in this financial year.