Paytm founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma (File),
Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma on Friday morning - amid growing concern over the operational status of the digital payments app - reassured its over 300 million users "your favourite app is working (and) will keep working beyond February 29 as usual".
Mr Sharma's message on X comes two days after the Reserve Bank of India said Paytm Payments Bank Ltd, or PBBL, the app's banking wing, cannot take deposits, offer credit services, or facilitate fund transfers from March 1. The central bank, which in March 2022 directed PBBL to not on-board new customers, cited "persistent non-compliance" issues flagged by an external audit.
READ | Can't Use Paytm Bank Wallet, Transfers After Feb 29. See Banned Services
"To every Paytmer... I with every Paytm team member salute you for your relentless support. For every challenge, there is a solution and we are sincerely committed to serve our nation in full compliance. India will keep winning global accolades in payment innovation and inclusion in financial services - with PaytmKaro as the biggest champion of it," Mr Sharma said on X.
Mr Sharma's message came as PBBL assured its customers their money is "safe" and that the RBI directive does not impact existing balances. The RBI had said existing customers could continue to utilise account balances, including savings and current, "without restriction (and) to available limit".
READ | "Your Money Is Safe": Paytm Payments Bank To Customers After RBI Curbs
However, PBBL also acknowledged customers could not deposit money in their accounts, or transfer to wallets linked to those accounts, after February 29.
The RBI order has triggered a steep fall in Paytm shares; the stock collapsed from Rs 761.4 on Wednesday afternoon to Rs 609 as markets opened the next day, erasing $1.2 billion in market value.
This morning the stock fell further as markets opened - to Rs 487.2 - leading to analysts predicting "for all practical purposes... operations of Paytm Payments Bank" had been finished.
READ | "End Of Paytm Payments Bank, For All Practical Purposes," Say Analysts
On Thursday Paytm said it is taking "immediate steps" to comply with the RBI's demands, but warned the order could have an annual "worst-case impact" of nearly $60 million on earnings.
Paytm's UPI, or unified payment interface, platform was launched in 2010 and quickly became synonymous with digital payments in a country traditionally dominated by cash transactions.
Paytm holds a 49 per cent stake in the banking unit, PBBL, which is a separate but connected business, while Mr Sharma holds the remaining 51 per cent.
The firm listed in Mumbai in November 2021 but its shares have since been hammered and are down more than 70 per cent since the initial public offering amid worries over profitability and regulatory rows.
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