‘Should have done better … now learnt the lesson,’ says Paytm founder
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Synopsis
Paytm is like a daughter who met with an accident and is in ICU, Vijay Shekhar Sharma says in the context of developments at the payments bank. "I saw it as a daughter on the way for an important entrance test, but met with an accident, and in a way is in ICU right now. That was the feeling from a personal, emotional (point of view),” Sharma said speaking at an event organised by JITO Innovation and Incubation Foundation in New Delhi.
“At a professional level, I would say we should have done better, there is no secret about it. We should have understood better…and we had responsibilities (that) we should have fulfilled (in a) much better (way)…we learnt the lesson and are much better (now than before),” he said.
In May, Paytm’s parent entity, One 97 Communications Ltd, reported a threefold increase in net loss to Rs 550 crore for the January-March period, and a 3% decline in operating revenue to Rs 2,267 crore, on account of the impact from regulatory action against Paytm Payments Bank.
The Noida-headquartered company’s management had guided that for the April-June 2024 period, it could post revenue in the Rs 1,500-1,600 crore range, with Rs 500-600 crore in loss before interest taxes, depreciation, amortisation and Esop costs.
Following the central bank’s action in January, the payments bank’s wallets business – one of its most popular offerings – came to a grinding halt, ET reported in April.
According to the RBI order, Paytm Payments Bank accounts (both savings and prepaid accounts) could be used only for pay-out transactions. Users could not load money into them after March 15.
On July 3, ET reported that Paytm Payments Bank is at loggerheads with auditor JC Bhalla & Co, which has expressed concerns about the viability of the business.
One 97 Communications’ stock has taken a beating since the RBI action – its price is down 40% since January 31. On July 5, the shares ended at Rs 436.60,up 5.8% from the previous day, on the BSE.