NEW DELHI, July 1
One97 Communications Ltd (OCL), the parent company of Paytm, denied media reports suggesting that the firm has decided to avoid pursuing businesses that require regulatory lincenses. The digital payments firm reaffirmed its commitment towards building on its core regulated business lines of payments and financial services, stating that there is no change in its ‘operating strategy’.
Media reports had suggested that Paytm’s leadership has decided to abandon licensed business in favour of a distribution model. The company refuted the claims stating that no such decision or communication has been made regarding a change in its operating strategy. Paytm confirmed that its operations spanning across payments, financial services distribution in segments such as insurance, credit and wealth products, continue to be under the ambit of necessary regulatory frameworks.
Paytm further added that being in the payments industry, distribution of financial services is a natural progression.
Further, building on infrastructure stacks such as Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) have always remained a part of its product roadmap, with no change in its stance.
“There is no change in our business strategy. We continue to focus on our regulated payments and financial services business, the information from your source suggesting otherwise is false and misleading. During our investor call, we have reaffirmed our commitment towards our core business lines, including payments and financial services, which remain regulated.
As part of our business model, we not only engage with leading financial institutions across distribution of credit, insurance and wealth products but also continue to co-innovate on newer product lines with them, under regulatory supervision. We do not see any impact as there is no change in our plan of action,” said a Paytm spokesperson.
Earlier in its Q4 earnings call as well, the company had stated that it will look to have greater regulatory engagement and higher focus on compliance, both in letter and spirit. “Further, it will also focus on monetisation by cross-selling financial services, in line with regulatory guidelines and expanding offerings through insurance and equity broking and distribution,” it added.
