Paytm RBI News: One97 Communications, the parent company of Paytm, has rebuffed latest media reports that claimed the organization is being probed by the Enforcement Directorate. This comes amid flurry of speculations around the fate of Paytm after the February 29 deadline.

However, Paytm boss Vijay Shekhar Sharma has maintained that the company is working towards resolving the crisis post the RBI ban. As clamour grows around the future of Paytm payment operations, here are top five updates that you should know:

  1. NO ED PROBE: In a regulatory filing on Sunday, One97 Communications said that “Neither the company nor its founder and CEO is being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate regarding inter alia money laundering.” The company emphasised its ongoing collaboration with authorities, stating that it has consistently cooperated whenever merchants or users on its platforms were under investigation.
  2. NO LAYOFFS: During a virtual townhall on Saturday, Paytm founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma said that there will be no layoffs. He assured job security to his staff during an hour-long call. In his morale-boosting call, Sharma addressed his employees for the first time directly since January 31st decision of the RBI.
  3. SALE OF WALLET BUSINESS: While Paytm is firefighting to come out of the present crisis, buzz is growing around sale of its wallet business. According to a report by the Hindu Business Line, Jio Financial Services and HDFC Bank are among top contenders for the wallet business.
  4. RBI’s RED FLAGS: As per a CNBC-TV18 report, the central bank discovered that approximately 31 crore out of 35 crore Paytm Wallets were non-operational. The investigation, as outlined in the CNBC-TV18 report, revealed instances where a single PAN card was associated with several hundred accounts. Additionally, there were blatant violations of KYC-anti money laundering rules.
  5. DEPLETING M-CAP: Shares of the digital payments giant plunged by 10% to reach a nearly all-time low on Monday, continuing a decline that started last week due to a regulatory crackdown on its banking division. Paytm has witnessed a decrease of approximately $2.5 billion, representing around 43% of its market value, following the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) directive on Wednesday instructing Paytm Payments Bank to cease accepting new deposits in its accounts or popular wallets starting March.