Paytm’s founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma has informed shareholders that the company’s revenue and profitability will be affected in the short term due to disruptions faced in its business during the fourth quarter. This includes a steady-state impact due to the pause in operations of the Paytm Payments Bank (PPBL) wallet, as well as the suspension of certain payment and loan products. However, Sharma emphasized that many of these products have been restarted or will soon be relaunched.
In its latest quarterly report, One97 Communications, the parent company of Paytm, reported a widening net loss of ₹550 crore for the quarter ending March 2024. This represents a significant increase from the ₹167.5 crore loss reported during the same period in the previous year. The company’s revenue from operations also declined by 2.8% year-over-year, dropping from ₹2,464.6 crore in Q4 2023 to ₹2,267.1 crore in Q4 2024. Despite these setbacks, Paytm’s annual revenue for FY24 saw a healthy increase of 25%, growing from ₹7,990.3 crore to ₹9,978 crore.
Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma has heaped praise on Google’s latest search technology, the Multimodal Gemini Model, which allows users to interact with video search by asking live questions verbally. Sharma described the technology as the ‘killer next version of Google Search’.
Google introduced AI-generated answers to online queries, one of the biggest changes to its search engine in 25 years. The Multimodal Gemini Model empowers users to ask questions by speaking directly to the search engine, making video search more intuitive and interactive. Sharma emphasized the practical applications of this technology, noting that Google has found an ‘AI way of search in everyday life’.
At the Google I/O 2024 conference, Sundar Pichai announced additional advancements in AI technology, including Gemini 1.5 Pro and Gemini 1.5 Flash, as well as Project Astra. Google Search team boss Liz Reid highlighted the user-centric approach of the new search experience, stating that users can now ask ‘whatever’s on their mind’ and Google will handle the research and legwork.
Bhavesh Gupta, the Chief Operating Officer (COO) and President of Paytm, has resigned from his position due to personal reasons. Gupta’s resignation follows just days before Paytm is set to release its financial results for the March quarter of 2024 amidst restrictions imposed on its associate firm, Paytm Payments Bank Limited (PPBL). In a letter to Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Gupta expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to work at the company and stated that he will continue in an advisory role until the end of the year.
Delhi Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj has alerted the public to a fake Facebook account created in his name, which is being used to fraudulently solicit funds through Paytm and GooglePay. The Aam Aadmi Party leader has requested refraining from transferring any money and has reported the incident to the South Delhi DCP for appropriate action. Bharadwaj emphasized the importance of staying vigilant against such fraudulent activities.
Paytm’s UPI services will no longer operate after March 15, 2024, as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has restricted Paytm Payments Bank from receiving funds. Paytm has partnered with major banks and is now authorized as a Third-Party Application Provider (TPAP) to continue providing UPI services. Users with ‘@paytm’ UPI handles will need to switch to new handles ending with ‘@ptsbi’ (SBI), ‘@pthdfc’ (HDFC Bank), ‘@ptaxis’ (Axis Bank), or ‘@ptyes’ (Yes Bank). This change will ensure uninterrupted UPI payments and compliance with RBI regulations.
NPCI authorizes Paytm to shift users to different banks for UPI payments, enabling seamless transactions and enhancing user experience. OCL, as the TPAP, facilitates the collaboration between Paytm and partner banks like Axis, HDFC, SBI, and YES Bank. Users instructed to activate new UPI IDs associated with their bank accounts for uninterrupted UPI services.
