Paytm disbursed loans worth Rs 5,517 crore in August, average MTU up 20%

Paytm disbursed loans worth Rs 5,517 crore in August, its parent One 97 Communications said in a regulatory filing on Tuesday. In the first two months of the current quarter (July and August), its average monthly transacting users (MTU) has jumped 20 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to 94 million.

The value of total loans disbursed in July and August jumped 137 per cent YoY to Rs 10,710 crore. It was Rs 4,517 crore in the same two months last year. Moreover, in the quarter that ended on June 30, the value of loans was up 167 per cent YoY to Rs 14,845 crore.

In terms of the number of loans, in July and August, the company saw a 47 per cent jump from 6 million loans in 2022 to 8.8 million in 2023. In the quarter ended June 30, the number of loans disbursed was up 51 per cent YoY to 12.8 million.

In terms of the total merchant gross merchandise value for July and August, the payments volume was up 43 per cent YoY to Rs 3 trillion.

"We continue to see an increase in GMV of non-UPI instruments like EMI and cards. Growth in payments volumes drives profitability for us, through net payments margin and/or from direct upsell potential," it said in its monthly performance update.

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Moreover, currently, it has 8.7 million merchant subscriptions as of August 31. In the last 12 months, it has added 4.2 million payment devices, 500,000 of these being installed in August alone.

"With our subscription as a service model, the strong adoption of devices drives subscription revenues and higher payment volumes, while increasing the funnel for our merchant loan distribution," the company added.

On Monday, Paytm launched a soundbox device that allows merchants to accept both mobile and card payments across networks -- from home-grown RuPay to Visa, Mastercard and American Express.

The Rs 999 "Card Soundbox" provides instant audio payment alerts to prevent fraud. The device will be available for a Rs 999 one-time fee or a Rs 99 monthly subscription fee.

"The device will accept debit, credit pre-paid cards, all UPI and wallet. It will allow payment through card tap. The maximum limit for card tap payment is Rs 5,000. Therefore it is a very secure device. Credit card charges will apply as per the bank rules," Paytm founder and chief executive officer (CEO) Vijay Shekhar Sharma said.

The company has deployed soundbox at around 85 million points of sales and expects to match the same pace of deployment for the new devices.

"We deploy 1.2 million soundboxes per quarter. We expect it to grow," Sharma said.

Also Read: Paytm's Sharma open to increasing stake in Indian payments firm

Sharma said that the devices are built indigenously, and he will continue to push demand for production-linked incentive schemes for payment devices.

"Paytm remains the champion of make in India and made in India and payment devices made in India are good for India. We will continue to push for PLI for payment devices made in India," he said.