Private sector lender Axis Bank said it is ready to work with Paytm if the Reserve Bank of India allows it to do so, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Amitabh Chaudhry reportedly said at an event.
Paytm's vast majority of transactions and around 75 percent of gross merchandise value come out of its customers using the popular UPI for transactions on its app. "Subject to regulatory approval and if the regulator allows us to work with Paytm, of course we will work with them, they are an important player," Chaudhry said.
One 97 Communications Limited, which runs the Paytm brand, as a UPI app has no relationship with any other commercial banks as of now.
Axis has been discussing business with Paytm beyond January 31, according to Arjun Chowdhry, Group Executive, Affluent Banking, NRI, Cards and Payments, Axis Bank.
He, however, clarified that discussions are for general business and not specific to any business. "We are having conversations with Paytm for our normal business services. Post the development that happened on January 31, we are discussing new things," Chowdhry told a TV channel.
Paytm is under intense regulatory and investor scrutiny after the RBI ordered Paytm Payments Bank Ltd. — another unit of billionaire Vijay Shekhar Sharma’s fintech empire — to stop accepting deposits in its accounts or popular digital wallet after Feb. 29, dealing a massive blow to the founder’s ambitions.