Paytm shares in focus today for 4 reasons

Shares of One 97 Communications (Paytm) will be in focus on Friday morning amid a few media reports: from resignation of a Paytm Payments Bank board member to Paytm closing in on a deal to acquire an ONDC platform; and from RBI's meeting with NPCI to finalise modalities for the migration of merchants and consumers from crisis-hit Paytm to EPFO  putting restrictions on deposits and credit transactions of subscribers’ EPF accounts held in Paytm Payments Bank accounts.

A media report suggested the fintech company was in advance stages to acquire Bitsila, the third largest seller side platform by transactions on the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC). Paytm is already a buyer app on the ONDC and was among the few large companies to integrate with the open network in 2022, Moneycontrol suggested. With the Bitsila acquisition, it will be able to deepen its reach within ONDC by getting on the seller-side of the network as well, the report added.

Another report by NDTV suggested that Manju Agarwal, a board member at Paytm Payments Bank, resigned, as she did not see any real future for the bank following the RBI's stringent restrictions on Paytm Payments Bank.

Meanwhile, the RBI will meet with the country's highways authority and National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) among others next week to finalise modalities for the migration of merchants and consumers from crisis-ridden Paytm, ET reported quoting sources.

Also read: Paytm shares crack 10%; RBI to issue FAQs in the matter next week

National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) which operates the Fastag service as well as NPCI that oversees the Unified Payment Interface (UPI) infrastructure among other stakeholders will be part of the discussions with the central bank ahead of the release of frequently asked questions (FAQs) by the regulator, the report suggested.

Meanwhile, another ET report suggested that Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has put restrictions on deposits and credit transactions of subscribers’ EPF accounts held in Paytm Payments Bank accounts. In a circular dated February 8, 2024, the EPFO advised all its Field Offices to refrain from accepting claims associated with bank accounts in Paytm Payment Bank Limited with effect from February 23, 2024, the ET reported.