Paytm's ‘comeback’ plan: Focussing on bank partnerships and streamlining

Paytm Crisis: This come as Bernstein noted a 10 per cent drop in application (app) traffic on Paytm.

Paytm Crisis: Paytm's parent firm One97 Communications is focussing on partnerships with banks to transfer its Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS) from Paytm Payments Bank. The company is also attempting to concentrate on acquiring new merchants through these collaborations, Business Standard reported.

Paytm Crisis: The interface of Indian payments app Paytm is seen in front of its logo displayed in this illustration. (Reuters)

These partnerships are in focus as Paytm is moving swiftly after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) extended the deadline barring deposit and credit transactions to March 15 from February 29. Customers and merchants might need “a little more time to make alternative arrangements”, RBI said.

The report quoting a person in the know saying, “There is a revised deadline in place, and the company is looking to accelerate the finalisation of banking partnerships since the deadline is less than a month away. It is in talks with HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, and others for these partnerships. This includes arrangements for BBPS, and more focus on acquiring merchants."

This come as Bernstein noted a 10 per cent drop in application (app) traffic on Paytm. The report said, “The daily downloads for the app have seen a sharp decline (minus 50 per cent), but the daily active user (DAU) count has only declined by minus 11 per cent since the Paytm PB ban. Similar to the consumer app, the merchant app’s daily downloads have seen a sharp decline (minus 40 per cent), but the DAU count has only declined by minus 3 per cent since the Paytm PB ban, indicating the stickier nature of merchant relationships."

“The limited impact on app traffic for both consumers and merchants corroborates our view that the disruption to gross merchandise value/merchant loan growth might indeed be a short-term phenomenon,” it added.