Paytm brings on board Srinivas Yanamandra as regulatory head

Fintech major Paytm has appointed Srinivas Yanamandra as its Group Head – Regulatory affairs and Policy. He has over 20 years of experience in building compliance systems and processes at large and fast growing businesses.

Yanamandra’s last stint was New Development Bank in Shanghai, where he served as chief of the compliance division. Prior to that, he worked as a compliance professional — both at ICICI Bank and IDFC First Bank in Mumbai — focusing on various aspects of banking regulation including governance, risk management, prudential reporting, risk-based supervision, digital banking, and more. 

Yanamandra’s appointment comes at a time when the fintech ecosystem in India is under the RBI’s glare. In March, the central bank directed Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma- promoted Paytm Payments Bank Ltd (PPBL) to stop opening new accounts amid "material supervisory concerns" observed in the bank.

Later, the promoter also clarified that all user data resides in the country after a report claimed that Paytm Payments Bank Ltd's servers were sharing information with China-based entities that indirectly own a stake in Paytm Payments Bank.

Yanamandra is a member of the policy working group of the Digital Currency Global Initiative, which is a collaboration between Stanford University and the International Telecommunication Union.

He said, “Paytm’s contribution to the Indian fintech landscape is exemplary, augmented by the business-friendly regulatory developments in the country.  I’m excited to make my contribution in fuelling the company’s journey further as it continues to achieve new milestones.”

Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Founder and CEO, Paytm said, "Indian regulatory initiatives have acted as enablers for Digital India as well as payments & financial services in the country. We are excited to welcome Dr Srinivas to the Paytm team. His years of expertise in the financial industry will further contribute to the rapidly growing Paytm ecosystem.”