PayTM delays payments bank launch

E-commerce firm PayTM today said the launch of its payments bank has been deferred by at least four months due to procedural issues and the venture will be rolled out in the second half of the calender year.
Vijay Shekhar Sharma, the company's founder and Chief Executive said as against an initially targeted date of February, he will be in a position to rollout the bank only after June but assured it will happen this year itself.
Asked about the reasons for the delay, Sharma said, "there are a couple of things...Frankly speaking we under estimated a number of things that need to be done."

He said the top leadership for the proposed bank, including Chief Executive and Chief Financial Officer, will be announced in the first week of March.
Sharma said the payments bank project has been given the codename of "Pokhran" internally and will be launched from Meerut, an important town in present-day Uttar Pradesh which is closely linked to the first war of Independence in 1857.
After places around Meerut, the bank will expand into the Northeast, he added.

Sharma was given the payments bank licence in an individual capacity, along with 10 others, including Reliance Industries, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone, last August by the RBI.

Asked about capital raising plans for PayTM, he said the current one will suffice for 31 quarters, "if we go by the spends last year".
The Payments Bank will be set up as a differentiated bank and shall confine its activities to acceptance of demand deposits, remittance services, Internet banking and other specified services.
They will be allowed to issue ATM/debit cards as also other prepaid payment instruments, but not credit cards.