FinMin nod to Paytm Payments for ‘downstream investment’ from One97

Paytm Payments Services Limited (PPSL) has obtained the approval of the Finance Ministry for a “downstream investment” from One97 Communications into the company. This was announced by PPSL, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of One97 Communications, in an exchange filing on Wednesday.

PPSL would now have to submit its Payment Aggregator (PA) application again, following the approval of the ministry.

“With this approval in place, PPSL will proceed to resubmit its PA application. In the meantime, PPSL will continue to provide online payment aggregation services to existing partners,” One97 Communications stated.

Paytm said the company would always adhere to a “compliance-first approach” and assured it would uphold all regulatory requirements. The company spoke of its commitment to contribute to the “Indian financial ecosystem” in the capacity of being “a homegrown Indian company”.

“As a homegrown Indian company, Paytm is focused on contributing to and advancing the Indian financial ecosystem," the company said.

Paytm’s reiteration about being “a homegrown Indian company” could be an outcome of the fact that a few of the approvals to PPSL have faced hitches in the past owing to the fact that the firm is said to have links with China. The current approval is being seen by many in the industry as a step towards regularising business.

The company suffered a net loss of nearly Rs 840 crore in the months of April to June this year, or the first quarter (Q1) of the fiscal year 2024-’25 (FY25). This has been the biggest loss that the company recorded since listing. Its revenue fell to Rs 1,502 crore in the quarter, mainly owing to challenges that were an outcome of restrictions by the Reserve Bank of India. Year on year, the revenue decline recorded was 36 per cent.