Following the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) restrictions on the Paytm’s banking unit, Founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma admitted that it was an emotional setback at a personal level while professionally it was a lesson learnt about fulfilling responsibilities better.
While speaking at the 7th JIIF Foundation day, Vijay Shekhar Sharma said “at a professional level, I would say we should have done better, there are no secrets about it, we had responsibilities, we should have fulfilled much better.” Asked how the RBI action on Paytm Payments Bank impacted him as a founder, he said that individually it was an emotional setback, and that professionally “obviously we learnt a lesson, and we are much better…” while admitting that he has been through more challenging moments.
Earlier on Jan 31, the RBI had directed PPBL to stop accepting money in any customer account, including wallets and other prepaid instruments due to persistent non-compliance. The restrictions were put in place after March 15. Due to this setback, the company, in May, recorded a net loss of Rs 549.60 crore during the fourth quarter of FY24, posting a 3.2X jump from Q4FY23 when it had posted a loss of Rs 168.40 crore.
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“When I was fundraising for the 2013-2014-2015 timeframe, our funds were drying up… I thought if we disappear (go down) no one will be bothered. Today it matters. As a founder, metaphorically speaking… my company is like my daughter…as a company, we were getting mature… it is just as if a daughter who is a school topper has met with an accident on way to an entrance test… that is the kind of feeling which is a little personal, emotional feeling,” he said.
Further, Vijay Shekhar Sharma addressed questions about his dreams and ambitions, and his highs and lows. He said that his personal ambition is to build a USD 100-billion company, and added that he wants the Paytm brand to be recognised globally, as an Indian company. He said that listing a company brings “a lot more responsibility and maturity” which has its own value and joy.
Vijay Shekhar Sharma drew a parallel between taking a company public and getting married saying, “just like everyone should get married, it is part of life…. similarly keeping a company private, is like staying a bachelor.” “It is a great opportunity to be listed, and jokes apart… ultimately it differentiates the men from the boys,” he said.
Meanwhile, Paytm is witnessing early signs of recovery for its Unified Payments Interface (UPI) business, marking a strong turnaround for the company. The total value of UPI transactions processed on the Paytm platform grew to Rs 1.24 trillion in May, on the back of the company launching several initiatives for users such as Credit Card on UPI, as well as pushing the lever on UPI Lite.
There were also media reports suggesting that One97 Communications Ltd (OCL), the parent company of Paytm, has decided to avoid pursuing businesses that require regulatory lincenses. The company, however, had reaffirmed its commitment towards building on its core regulated business lines of payments and financial services, stating that there is no change in its ‘operating strategy’. Paytm had confirmed that its operations spanning across payments, financial services distribution in segments such as insurance, credit and wealth products, continue to be under the ambit of necessary regulatory frameworks.
(With inputs from PTI)
From: financialexpress
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