Paytm has turned an operational profit for the first time. On a revenue of Rs 1,470 crore, the company reported a profit of Rs 122.5 crore. This first ever truly profitable quarter will hearten public investors. Paytm was hit hard by the Reserve Bank of India shutting down Paytm Payments Bank and forcing the company to discontinue Paytm wallets in early 2024. The company has been on a steady mend since that wipeout.
Out to list. Pine Labs is a hardware business pretending to be a fintech. Pine Labs was injected with vast amounts of VC money. The hope was that the hardware would trade for higher multiples. The core of the company is its POS machines. Pine Labs has a strong core of large retail chains. The company is trying to grow with new products and in new regions.
The worst may be over for MobiKwik. The Gurugram-based fintech company ended the 2024–25 fiscal year with a loss of ₹121 crore, down from a profit of ₹14 crore in the previous year. Higher losses are a result of its risky lending business, which ran into trouble after the Reserve Bank of India’s nudge last year to slow down unsecured lending. The company has pivoted its focus to higher-ticket, longer-term loans. Its payments business remains strong, with non-UPI payments making up 68% of processed payments, up from 37%.
Paytm announced its results for the quarter ended March 2025, showing signs of recovery. Founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma teased a potential return for Paytm wallets, saying they “may be near a breakthrough or some resolution.” This is a significant hint for shareholders following the fintech company’s decline after the RBI restrictions on Paytm Payments Bank. The company is on track for profitability, with strong growth in financial services and merchant subscriptions.
A narrative war is unfolding in India’s fintech ecosystem. On one side is Juspay, a payments orchestrator. On the other are four of the largest payment aggregators (PAs): PhonePe, Razorpay, Cashfree, and Paytm. The PAs have told merchants that their payment gateways will no longer work with Juspay’s orchestrator. Juspay is now accusing the PAs of engaging in anti-competitive tactics. The PAs are demanding neutrality and fair play. This is a big matter involving four of the largest PAs. The fight is being waged on economics that will decide the winner.
It reported losses in Q2 and Q3, its financial services business is reeling and its payments business is growing but earning less. The Gurugram-based fintech needs a turnaround. Since its mid-December initial public offering (IPO), MobiKwik’s shares have fallen by just under 40%. The company’s losses are largely due to its financial services business being severely impacted, despite healthy growth in its payments business. This financial trouble is attributed to sectoral headwinds and a debacle in its P2P lending product with partner Lendbox, which virtually shut down after an RBI circular.
The messaging giant is a minnow when it comes to payments. Relief from NPCI could be just the fillip it needs to finally take on leaders PhonePe and Google Pay.
