Vijay Shekhar Sharma Hints To Reapply For Payment Aggregator License

Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma repeated the intention to reapply for a payment aggregator (PA) license to the Reserve Bank of India on Thursday during the company's annual general meeting.

Vijay Shekhar Sharma stated, "We will apply for payment aggregator license to RBI in due course."

Notably, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) rejected Paytm's PA license permit application in November 2022 and instructed the company to reapply with Press Note 3 compliance under the foreign direct investment norms.

The government had made its prior approval mandatory for investments from nations that share land borders with India, mentioned Press Note 3. "We would like to inform you that PPSL has received approval from the Government of India, Ministry of Finance, Department of Financial Services, vide its letter dated August 27, 2024, for downstream investment from the Company into PPSL," the company said in a filing.

Recently, Paytm got approval from the Finance Ministry to invest in its payment services business. "We would like to inform you that PPSL has received approval from the government of India, Ministry of Finance, Department of Financial Services, vide its letter dated August 27, 2024, for downstream investment from the company into PPSL. With this approval in place, PPSL will proceed to resubmit its PA application. In the meantime, PPSL will continue to provide online payment aggregation services to existing partners," Paytm filing said earlier.

India's banking regulator and financial crime-fighting agency have been closely monitoring One 97 Communications, the company behind Paytm, since the central bank ordered it to shut down its payments bank in January.