Paytm wants to tackle UPI concentration risk via organic tech plans

Paytm CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma says company aims to reduce concentration risk in UPI through technology-led growth as its market share by volume and value rises

Paytm founder and chief executive officer (CEO) Vijay Shekhar Sharma said the company aims to address concentration risk in the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) market.  

 

This comes at a time when Paytm has seen its market share by volume grow from 6.9 per cent in December 2024 to 7.65 per cent in December 2025.

 

By UPI value, its share during these months was 5.4 per cent in December 2024 and 6.32 per cent in December 2025 respectively, according to National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) data.

 

“We want to solve for (UPI) market share concentration risk by our organic technology plans. That’s our ambition and mission. I am very happy to tell you that we earned the right to be that, once the regulator permitted us last October (2024),” Sharma said in a call with analysts. 

 

In October 2024, Paytm received a nod to take onboard new users from UPI-operator NPCI as a third-party app. 

 

This was about nine months after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) placed an embargo to add new UPI users following restrictions on its associate entity, Paytm Payments Bank. 

 

To be sure, PhonePe and Google Pay process about 80 per cent of total monthly UPI volumes as of December 2025. The share by value in the same month stood at 82.91 per cent. In December 2024, their combined volume and value market share stood at 84.43 per cent and 85.98 per cent respectively. 

 

The discussion around concentration risk is critical since the NPCI has set a deadline to introduce a 30 per cent market cap for third-party UPI players by the end of 2026. 

 

Meanwhile, Sharma added that they aimed at growing its stock broking arm, Paytm Money, among the top five players within the industry in the next three years. 

 

“When we launched Paytm Money, it was the top SIP producer in the country. We got defocused, we went through an IPO… many other processes… We want to make Paytm Money a top five player in less than three years,” Sharma added. 

 

On Thursday evening, Paytm posted a consolidated net profit of ₹225 crore in the third quarter of financial year 2025-26 (Q3FY26) as compared to a loss of ₹208 crore in Q3FY25. The Noida-based company recorded a net profit of ₹21 crore in Q2FY26.

 

The growth in net profit comes at a time when the fintech major recorded a 20 per cent growth in its revenue from operations to ₹2,194 crore in Q3FY26 from ₹1,828 crore in Q3FY25. Sequentially, revenue grew by 6.5 per cent from ₹2,061 crore in Q2FY26. 

 

To be sure, the company has earned ₹212 crore in other income in Q3FY26 as compared to ₹189 crore and ₹222 crore in Q3FY25 and Q2FY26 respectively. 

 

Other income is generated through dividends or interest, among other factors that are non-core to the business.