Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das has assured that 80-85% of Paytm wallet users will not be impacted by regulatory actions. He advised the remaining users to link their apps to other banks.
This follows the Reserve Bank of India's decision on January 31 to prevent Paytm Payments Bank Ltd (PPBL) from accepting deposits, credit transactions, or account top-ups.
Users are given until March 15 to link their wallets to other banks, with no further extensions planned. Das clarified that the RBI's action was against PPBL, not Fintech companies, and stressed the RBI's support for financial technology innovation.
"RBI is and remains fully supportive of fintech... RBI is all for fintech to grow," Das told ET Now in an interview. While explaining his point, Das said that one might own and drive a Ferrari but still they need to obey traffic rules to avoid accidents.
He also mentioned that the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) will soon decide on the Paytm payment app license.
"So far, as RBI is concerned, we have informed them that we have no objection if NPCI considers the Paytm payment app to continue because our action was against the Paytm payment bank. The app is with the NPCI...NPCI will take a call...I think they should be taking a call shortly," he said.
Following these regulatory actions, Paytm Payments Bank Limited saw changes in its board. Last month, Promoter Vijay Shekhar Sharma stepped down as part-time non-executive Chairman of Paytm Payments Bank Limited and the board of the bank was reconstituted.
At present, former Central Bank of India chairman Srinivasan Sridhar, former Bank of Baroda Executive Director Ashok Kumar Garg, and two retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers havhe been inducted on the board of the bank.
Moving on from Paytm Payments Bank and Paytm wallet, Das also commented on economic growth, predicting that the GDP for the current year could be close to 8%, with a 7% growth projected for the next financial year. He noted that despite the latest inflation print of 5.1% being 110 basis points away from the target of 4%, the trend of inflation is declining and the RBI is focused on achieving the 4% target sustainably.
(With PTI inputs)