Paytm Stock Price Today: Shares of One97 Communications, owner of fintech firm Paytm, hit a more than six-month high of Rs 623.80 on the BSE on Friday, August 30. The multi-month high came as Paytm shares surged 13 per cent in intraday trade amid heavy volumes.
Shares of the fintech company have doubled, rising 101 per cent from its 52-week low of Rs 310 hit on May 9, 2024. Paytm’s share price is trading at its highest level since January 31, 2024.
At 02:46 PM, Paytm stock was trading 12 percent higher at Rs 621.50 as against 0.31 percent rise in the BSE Sensex. The average trading volume on the counter almost doubled as around 32 million shares had changed hands on the NSE and BSE, combined, till the time of writing this report. In the last two trading days, the stock has gained 16 percent on the BSE.
Paytm Payment Services Limited (PPSL), a wholly owned subsidiary of One97 Communications, has announced that it has received approval for foreign direct investment (FDI) and will resubmit its application for payment aggregator (PA) license.
In a listing, the company said, “We would like to inform you that PPSL has received approval from the Government of India, Ministry of Finance, Department of Financial Services, for downstream investment of the company in PPSL. With this approval, PPSL will proceed with re-filing its PA application,” Paytm said on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, PPSL will continue to provide online payment aggregation services to existing partners, the company said.
“We remain committed to a compliance-first approach and upholding the highest regulatory standards. As a local Indian company, Paytm is focused on contributing to and advancing the Indian financial ecosystem,” the report said.
Additionally, Paytm has sold its entertainment ticketing business to food delivery platform Zomato for Rs 2,048 crore.
“This deal reinforces our commitment to payments and financial services distribution. In the past few quarters, we have expanded into insurance, equity broking and wealth distribution, which offer significant opportunities to cross-sell these services and strengthen our position as a leading player in financial services distribution,” Paytm had said in an exchange filing.
The transaction will be materially accretive to Paytm and the proceeds will further strengthen our balance sheet for future growth, it added.
The Rapid Rise of Fintech in India
According to Paytm’s annual report for the financial year 2023-2024 (FY24), the Indian payments landscape has benefited from multiple developments in the past few years, including innovations in mobile payments and digital infrastructure, continued regulatory support, and government initiatives to increase consumer and merchant adoption.
Given the increasing shift towards a cashless economy and users’ preference to transact via their mobile phones, mobile payments continue to grow rapidly. This is further bolstered by the growth of digital commerce and services. As a result, digital transactions in India surpassed Rs 3.2 trillion in FY23 and are expected to reach Rs 4 trillion by FY26.
“India’s digital lending market is expected to grow to $515 billion by 2030, at a CAGR of 33 per cent during 2021-30. India’s WealthTech market is expected to grow to $237 billion by 2030 on the back of a growing retail investor base, while the InsuranceTech market is expected to reach $88 billion by 2030, driven by untapped opportunities and innovative models,” Paytm said in its annual report for FY24.
With the support of the regulator, NPCI and banking partners, Paytm has successfully transitioned PPBL’s services to other partner banks, enabling the company to continue serving its customers and merchants without interruption.
“We believe this transition will further leverage our business model and provide more opportunities for long-term monetization with partner banks, leveraging our strong customer and merchant engagement on the platform,” Paytm said.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, speaking at a special Global Fintech Festival, said that FinTech has played a major role in democratizing financial services in India. He added that digital transactions have reduced the threat of a parallel economy and increased transparency in the banking system. CLICK HERE FOR FULL DETAILS
First publication: Aug 30, 2024 | 3:16 PM IST