Fintech firm One97 Communications' managing director and chief executive officer Vijay Shekhar Sharma has voluntarily surrendered 2.1 crore shares worth about Rs 1,800 crore, as per a regulatory filing and share closing price of the company.
Vijay Shekhar Sharma has stepped down as part-time non-executive Chairman of Paytm Payments Bank Limited (PPBL), and the board of the bank has been reconstituted. The Reserve Bank has barred the PPBL from accepting deposits and credits from any customer post-March 15 for persistent non-compliances and continued material supervisory concerns in the bank. PPBL has reconstituted its Board of Directors with the appointment of Ex-Central Bank of India chairman Srinivasan Sridhar, retired IAS officer Debendranath Sarangi, former executive director of Bank of Baroda Ashok Kumar Garg, and former IAS officer Rajni Sekhri Sibal, Paytm said in a regulatory filing on Monday.
Paytm (One 97 Communications Ltd), India's full-stack merchant payments leader serving MSMEs and enterprises, has launched a fully redesigned version of its flagship app, integrating artificial intelligence-driven features to streamline and personalise everyday transactions for its users.
Mukesh Ambani has reclaimed his position as the richest Indian, overtaking Gautam Adani, according to the M3M Hurun India Rich List 2025 released on Wednesday. With a wealth of Rs. 9.55 lakh crore ($105 billion), the 68-year-old Reliance chairman returned to the top spot, while Adani, 63, and his family followed closely with Rs. 8.15 lakh crore.
'This marks a turning point for Paytm, with the regulatory environment looking much clearer than it has been in the last two years.'
Digital financial services firm One97 Communications' Managing Director Vijay Shekhar Sharma has purchased 1.7 lakh shares of the company worth Rs 11 crore, according to a regulatory filing.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday asked fintech firms to focus on risk management at a time when criminals are using AI to mimic voices, clone identities and create lifelike videos to manipulate people.
Fintech firm One97 Communications, which owns the Paytm brand, reported its first-ever consolidated net profit at Rs 122.5 crore in the quarter ended June 2025, mainly on account of cost optimisation and an increase in payment revenue. Paytm had posted a net loss of Rs 840 crore in the year-ago period.
Google Pay, PhonePe, and Paytm may deliberately delay transactions, issue fraud alerts, and require an extra layer of user confirmation before processing any transactions that are likely to be classified as fraudulent.
'There is need for India-specific pricing.' 'Google, Microsoft and others also have different pricing.' 'It is important for OpenAI to think on these lines as the global pricing may not work in the Indian context.'
One97 Communications Ltd (OCL), the company that operates the Paytm brand, posted a consolidated loss of Rs 539.8 crore in the fourth quarter of 2024-25 (Q4FY25), slightly lower from the Rs 549.6 crore it reported in Q4FY24. Sequentially, the fintech company's loss widened from Rs 208.3 crore in Q3FY25 on account of a one-time exceptional expense amounting to Rs 522 crore during the quarter ended March 2025.
Two years after his dismissive stance on India's AI potential raised eyebrows here, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on Wednesday gave a ringing endorsement to Artificial Intelligence momentum in the country -- and billed India as an important market not just for the new-age technology itself but for the ChatGPT creator as well. In New Delhi on Wednesday, Altman -- while sharing dais with Union IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw -- said India is the second biggest market for the company and that Open AI had tripled its users here in the last year.
Paytm will focus on its core business of payments and cross-selling financial services as it works to achieve "profitability soon", said Vijay Shekhar Sharma, founder and chief executive officer of the fintech, on Thursday. "The past six months have taught us many lessons, giving us the opportunity to thoroughly examine our business processes, compliance, and the way we operate from the inside out.
'Son believes India has a significant opportunity in chip design, especially in creating IP that will be uniquely Indian.'
One97 Communications (OCL), the company that operates brand Paytm, received a nod from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to onboard new Unified Payments Interface (UPI) users. This comes nearly nine months after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) placed an embargo on OCL to add new customers.
The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has granted approval to Paytm to onboard new UPI users, subject to the adherence to all procedural guidelines and circulars, according to the company. The move is expected to come as a relief to Paytm, which had suffered a blow following the Reserve Bank of India's restrictions earlier this year on associate company Paytm Payments Bank Limited (PPBL) in onboarding new UPI users on the Paytm app. In March, the NPCI gave approval to Paytm to participate in UPI as a Third-Party Application Provider (TPAP).
Paytm operator One97 Communications Ltd on Wednesday said it is not in talks to sell a stake to the Adani Group. Adani group has also termed such reports as "false and untrue." Commenting on a report that billionaire Gautam Adani was in talks with Paytm CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma for a possible stake buy, One97 Communications said, the "news item is speculative and the company is not engaged in any discussions in this regard."
At the heart of Paytm's slide lies the abject failure of its Super App strategy, notes Indrajit Gupta.
Beleaguered Paytm Payments Bank's managing director and CEO Surinder Chawla has resigned from the company, a regulatory filing said on Tuesday. Chawla's resignation comes amidst Paytm Payments Bank facing prohibitory action from banking regulator RBI. "Surinder Chawla, managing director and CEO of PPBL, has tendered his resignation on April 8, 2024, on account of personal reasons and to explore better career prospects.
Has Vijay Shekhar Sharma given up on the bank? For now, he seems to be on a save-OCL mission. The bank will face its logical end, observes Tamal Bandopadhyay.
Startup founders need to sit up and think about how not to take stardom for granted and how not to disappoint their fans who have stood in long queues for those precious selfies with popular entrepreneurs, notes Nivedita Mookerji.
The Chinese financial giant, which had invested in One 97 Communications since 2015, has seen a sharp decline of 45 per cent, or Rs 2,125 crore, in its stake value since the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) took action against Paytm Payments Bank on January 31. One 97 shares closed at Rs 422.6 a share on Monday. The Chinese company, however, had sold its stake worth Rs 8,293 crore in three tranches over one year.
The National Payments Corporation of India on Thursday granted approval to Paytm-owner One97 Communications Ltd to participate in UPI as a Third-Party Application Provider (TPAP) under the multi-bank model. Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, State Bank of India, and YES Bank will act as Payment System Provider (PSP) banks to Paytm.
The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has launched a preliminary investigation or a pre-open inquiry into alleged violations related to the Foreign Exchange Management Act (Fema) in the Paytm Payments Bank case, according to sources in the know. The probe follows serious concerns raised by the Reserve Bank of India on multiple violations by the Paytm bank, which is a joint venture between One97 Communications, which is the parent company of Paytm, and the group's founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma.
Glimpses of Vijay Shekhar Sharma's joy during the IPO listing ceremony on the BSE.
Paytm, the country's leading fintech player which had to shut its payment bank business following regulatory action, is revisiting its business strategy including partnership with lenders. Also, the company's founder and chief executive officer (CEO) Vijay Shekhar Sharma has decided to oversee the day-to-day operations with all the major verticals reporting directly to him now. "The thing on top of everyone's agenda is getting the core businesses back on track," a person in the know said.
Going by the RBI directive and the overall narrative, Paytm may have lost the rigour of stress tests, audits and compliance.
One97 Communications Ltd (OCL), the parent firm of fintech major Paytm, has denied reports about any investigation by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) into the company, its associates, and its founder and chief executive officer (CEO), Vijay Shekhar Sharma. The company, in an exchange filing on Sunday, said it had cooperated with the authorities when users or merchants on its platform were subject to enquiries in the past. "We would like to set the record straight and deny any involvement in anti-money laundering activities.
As many as 80-85 per cent Paytm wallet users will not face any disruption because of regulatory actions, and the remaining users have been advised to link their apps to other banks, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said on Wednesday. The Reserve Bank of India on January 31 barred Paytm Payments Bank Ltd (PPBL) from accepting deposits, credit transactions, or top-ups in any customer accounts.
Fintech firm One97 Communications, which owns the Paytm brand, on Wednesday said its loss in the fourth quarter of the financial year 2023-24 has widened to Rs 550 crore following the ban imposed by the RBI on transactions related to its payments bank. The company had posted a loss of Rs 167.5 crore in the same period a year ago, the company said in a regulatory filing. "Our fourth quarter FY24 results were impacted by temporary disruption on account of UPI transition etc. and permanent disruption because of the PPBL embargo.
Paytm's Vijay Shekhar Sharma savours Mumbai's street fare... Shashi Tharoor bangs a drum... Punjab CM visits Pakistan...
At a time when the role of corporate boards is once again under the scanner, independent directors on the Paytm Payments Bank board have indicated that red flags were raised over regulatory issues but they may have been late in doing so. "As independent directors, we asked questions and monitored responses to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Many changes were made on compliances. "Obviously, in retrospect, it was not found to be enough," said one of the independent directors on the condition of anonymity.
Price Waterhouse Chartered Accountants (PwC India) has resigned as the auditor of Paytm Payments Services, the fintech major said in a regulatory filing on Monday. "...we wish to inform you that M/s. Price Waterhouse Chartered Accountants LLP ... statutory auditors of material subsidiary i.e. Paytm Payments Services Limited (PPSL) have resigned with effect from August 7, 2023," the company added. Paytm said that the statutory auditors had not raised any concerns or issues and that the company had noted PwC's resignation.
Paytm's pre-IPO investors, which include likes of Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathway, SoftBank and Alibaba, do not seem to be in a hurry to exit India's leading digital payments brand as they continue to believe in its long-term prospect, analysts said. On Tuesday, 86 per cent of Paytm's shares became free to trade after the end of the lock-in period, allowing investors to sell shares that haven't yet been allowed onto the market. Market participants have been speculating on Paytm, post-expiry of lock-in for pre-IPO investors.
The shareholders have approved raising of Rs 12,000 crore during the initial public offer and sale of secondary shares will take the total amount to Rs 16,600 crore. "Shareholders have approved all the proposals at the extraordinary general meeting. "The shareholders have approved the proposal to raise capital and the fresh issue of shares of up to Rs 12,000 crore during the IPO.
'We now understand things that we have to correct.'
Digital firm One97 Communications, which operates under Paytm brand name, on Thursday said its IPO will open on November 8 for subscription in the price band of Rs 2,080-2,150 apiece, which implies that the firm's valuation stands at Rs 1.44 lakh crore-Rs 1.48 lakh crore. The initial public offer (IPO) subscription will close on November 10.
After raising Rs 10 crore in seed funding last week from investors like Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Freshworks founder Girish Mathrabootham and Silicon Valley based venture capitalist firm Hourglass Venture, Chennai-based social media startup Pepul told Business Standard that it is looking to raise around Rs 200 crore by June this year for expansion. The social media platform, focused on online ethical practices, will be launched by 1,000 entrepreneurs across the country on January 26. Pepul, founded by G Suresh Kumar, will be using an Aadhaar-based user verification system to get rid of fake accounts on its platform. "We are planning to raise around Rs 200 crore by June this year.
The Indian startup ecosystem has lauded the inclusion of startups in the New Delhi Leaders' Declaration for the first time ever in the history of G20. Industry stakeholders say that the move will lead to easier access to capital, reduce regulatory hurdles, and may revive funding activity. The Declaration, through the Startup20 initiative, recognised startups as "natural engines of growth" and key to socio-economic transformation by driving innovation and creating employment.
Digital payments firm Paytm is expected to seek shareholders' approval to raise up to Rs 16,600 crore through an initial share sale, giving it a valuation of over Rs 1.78 lakh crore, according to a source. The extraordinary general meeting of Paytm is scheduled for July 12 in which the company may seek approval to raise up to Rs 12,000 crore through issuance of fresh equity. Another Rs 4,600 crore is expected to be raised from the sale of equity shares by existing and eligible shareholders, according to the source.