RBI Governor: Majority of Paytm Wallet Users Unaffected by Regulatory Actions

Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Shaktikanta Das has guaranteed that regulatory actions won't affect 80–85% of Paytm wallet customers. For the remaining customers, he suggested connecting their apps to different banks.

This comes after the Reserve Bank of India decided on January 31 to stop credit transactions, deposits, and account top-ups from being accepted by Paytm Payments Bank Ltd (PPBL).

RBI Sets Deadline for Paytm Wallet Users Amid Fintech Support

There won't be any further extensions offered, so users have until March 15 to connect their wallets to other banks. Das emphasized the RBI's support for financial technology innovation and stated that the measure was taken on PPBL rather than Fintech businesses.

"RBI is all for fintech to grow," Das said in an interview with ET Now. "RBI is and remains fully supportive of fintech." Das clarified his position by stating that even if someone drives a Ferrari and owns one, they still need to follow the law in order to prevent accidents.

Additionally, he stated that the license for the Paytm payment app would shortly be decided by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).

As far as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is concerned, we have told them that because our action was directed against the Paytm payment bank, we do not object if NPCI decides to keep the Paytm payment app operational. The NPCI owns the app. NPCI will answer the phone. I believe they ought to start receiving calls soon," he remarked.

New Leadership Emerges at Paytm Payments Bank After Regulatory Shifts

The board of Paytm Payments Bank Limited underwent changes as a result of these regulatory proceedings.

Promoter Vijay Shekhar Sharma resigned from his position as Paytm Payments Bank Limited's part-time non-executive chairman last month, and the bank's board was reorganized.

Currently serving on the bank's board are two retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers, former Bank of Baroda executive director Ashok Kumar Garg, and former chairman of the Central Bank of India Srinivasan Sridhar.

Leaving behind Paytm Payments Bank and Paytm wallet, Das also discussed economic development. He estimated that the GDP will expand by 7% in the upcoming fiscal year and that it would reach around 8% this year.

Even though the most recent inflation figure of 5.1% was 110 basis points over the objective of 4%, he pointed out that inflation is on the decline and the RBI is concentrating on reaching the 4% target in a sustainable manner.