Paytm secures RBI nod for payment aggregator licence after AntFin's exit

Notably, the new development comes after China's Ant Financial exited the company last week, selling its entire 5.84 per cent stake for around ₹3,803 crore

Paytm Payments Services Limited (PPSL), a wholly owned subsidiary of One 97 Communications Limited, has received in-principle approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to operate as an online payment aggregator under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007, the company said on Tuesday.

 

"We would like to inform you that RBI has granted ‘in-principle’ authorisation to PPSL... to operate as an Online Payment Aggregator under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007," the company stated in a BSE filing. 

 

Background to the approval 

The RBI had last year rejected Paytm’s application for a payment aggregator licence, citing non-compliance with foreign direct investment (FDI) norms, and directed the company to meet regulatory requirements before reapplying.

 

The latest development comes after China’s Ant Financial exited the company last week, selling its entire 5.84 per cent stake for around ₹3,803 crore, thereby reducing Chinese ownership in the company to zero.

 

Regulatory history 

Last year, the company said it had received FDI approval from the Ministry of Finance and would resubmit its application for the payment aggregator licence.

 

One 97 Communications has previously faced regulatory scrutiny. In January 2024, the RBI ordered Paytm Payments Bank to halt the onboarding of new customers, citing concerns over its compliance with banking regulations. 

What now?

The licence allows PPSL to onboard merchants, facilitating online transactions for them. This comes as a part of Paytm's broader focus to enter the merchant ecosystem.

 

"Merchant side business model is a very long-term business model. Every economy and geography that I am meeting with senior executives either in the central bank or government love it because SME credit is missing everywhere. If you can solve for payment and solve for future-forward receivables that business model is a template in our opinion. Our primary plan will be that," Vijay Shekhar, founder and chief executive office (CEO) of Paytm, had said in January 2025.

 

Paytm Q1 FY26 results

 

One 97 Communications reported a consolidated net profit of ₹122.5 crore in the first quarter of the financial year 2026 (Q1 FY26), reversing a loss of ₹838.9 crore recorded in the same period last year. The company had also reported a loss of ₹539.8 crore in the previous quarter (Q4 FY25).

 

Its revenue from operations increased to ₹1,917.5 crore in Q1 FY26, up 27.7 per cent from ₹1,501.6 crore in Q1 FY25. Compared to the previous quarter, revenue was slightly higher than ₹1,911.5 crore. The rise was driven by growth in subscription merchants, higher gross merchandise volume (GMV), and increased income from financial services distribution.