Paytm Payments Bank gets RBI nod for scheduled bank status

Paytm Payments Bank, a subsidiary of One97 Communications, has announced that it has received an approval from the Reserve Bank of India for its inclusion in scheduled banks under the RBI Act, 1934. Being a scheduled payments bank, Paytm Payments Bank can now explore new business opportunities. The bank can participate in government and other large corporations issued Request for Proposals (RFP), primary auctions, fixed-rate and variable rate repos, and reverse repos, along with participation in Marginal Standing Facility. The bank would now also be eligible to partner in government-run financial inclusion schemes, according to an official statement.
 
Under the RBI Act 1934, banks whose affairs are not being conducted in a manner detrimental to the interests of its depositors, are included in the second schedule.
 
Satish Kumar Gupta, MD & CEO of Paytm Payments Bank Ltd stated that the company’s constant endeavour is to bring better banking services for Indians to drive financial inclusion in the country. “We have witnessed a fast adoption of digital banking services, with users appreciating the new era of banking in India. The inclusion of Paytm Payments Bank in the Second Schedule to the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, will help us innovate further and bring more financial services and products to the underserved and unserved population in India,” he added.
 
Paytm Payments Bank now processes transactions with various instruments  like Paytm Wallet, Paytm FASTag, net banking and Paytm UPI. The bank claims to  power 33.3 crore Paytm Wallets and enables consumers to make payments at over 87,000 online merchants and 2.11 crore in-store merchants.
 
“Over 15.5 crore Paytm UPI handles have been created and are used to make and receive payments with Paytm Payments Bank being the largest beneficiary bank and one of the top remitter banks for UPI transactions in the country. In the last fiscal year, the bank has also become the largest issuer and acquirer of FASTags in the country,” the company stated.

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