The board of Paytm Payments Bank is independent and capable of addressing regulatory concerns, Paytm chief executive officer Vijay Shekhar Sharma said in a webinar on Monday.
One97 Communications, which owns the Paytm brand, is an associate of Paytm Payments Bank. “I, personally or anyone from One97 Communications have no connection with the payments bank,” he said. “There is an independent board taking care of everything and we have full faith in their capability,” he added.
On January 31, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) ordered Paytm Payments Bank to stop accepting new deposits in its accounts or digital wallets from March 15, citing supervisory concerns and persistent non-compliance with rules.
Subsequently, the National Payments Corporation of India allowed Paytm to migrate users to other banks from Paytm Payments Bank. On Monday, Sharma disclosed that the migration of merchant customer accounts to other UPI handles from Paytm is completed.
“After we received the approval from NPCI, the migration of customer accounts is completed,” he said, adding that the migration of merchants has also been completed and the system is running with YES Bank as the back end.
On April 17, One97 Communications had started the migration of customers to partner payment service provider (PSP) banks Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, State Bank of India and YES Bank. A PSP helps the UPI app to connect with the banking channel. Only banks can act as PSPs.
Further, Sharma said that Paytm has resumed co-lending business and is looking at new partnerships.
One97 Communications owns 49% in the payments bank, while Sharma holds the remaining 51%. In February, Sharma stepped down as non-executive chairman and board member of Paytm Payments Bank.
Separately, Paytm on Monday launched two “Made in-India” soundboxes for UPI and credit card on UPI payments.
Sharma said that the need for these hybrid soundboxes was felt in the backdrop of a high-noise environment in India. These advanced soundboxes offer better sound quality and battery life, making them better suited to Indian conditions.