Paytm CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma has recently said that the Reserve Bank of India’s processes are respectable but Paytm was now a publicly listed company. Paytm was still continuously onboarding new customers, Sharma added, reasoning that the Reserve Bank of India has not put in place a ban on that process.
“I’m not supposed to say what the RBI does. But I can completely say this is not true. People are interpreting this to the next level. RBI’s processes are well-respected and understandable. Paytm is not a small-time bank, it is now a publicly-listed company,” the CEO said in an interview with MoneyControl.
However, the Sharma did not give out any details on why the RBI issued a directive to stop onboarding new customers to the Paytm Payments Bank earlier last week.
“There is nothing else I can say. I can’t give more details because it is the RBI’s process,” he said.
On asking if the company was sharing data with Chinese firms, Sharma said that it was a false claim. “It is a completely malicious, false and scrupulous statement not substantiated by any facts. Paytm is completely compliant with data localisation norms and has no server whatsoever outside India,” he told MoneyControl.
“I want to call out that it is an absolutely malicious story which does not corroborate the facts of the business that we are in. I want to say this clearly – this is stemming from malicious intent. Not just that, it is absolute rubbish,” Sharma said on a Bloomberg report claiming that the RBI found out Paytm was sharing data with China-based entities that indirectly own a stake in Paytm Payments Bank.
The CEO also clarified that Paytm’s business model is not dependant on the payments bank getting small finance bank licence.
“Paytm’s business model is not dependent on the Payments Bank receiving a Small Finance Bank license. In other words, there is absolutely clear understanding that our credit business is based on a disbursement and technology model, not on a book ownership model. The only thing the small finance bank will get is loans,” he said.
“I’m sure you also know that we are profitable in Payments Bank by design itself, while many others have called out that there is no model, it is not viable etc. Now, anyway Paytm Payments Bank was not going to apply for the licence immediately, or even as soon as we become eligible for it,” he added.
When asked when Paytm is going to apply for the licence since the deadline is of May this year, Sharma said that he will look into it. “Currently there is a lot to do with the existing payments businesses the Payments Bank handles,” he said.
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