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.
It is the first e-commerce company that the RBI has given permission to directly give loans. E-commerce giant Flipkart has secured an NBFC (non-banking financial company) licence from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Its group entity, Flipkart Finance Private Limited, was granted the approval and registered as an NBFC on March 13. This allows Flipkart to directly disburse loans, a higher margin play than just distributing loans for other lenders. Flipkart is also in the process of shifting its holding company from Singapore to India as a precursor to an IPO.
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%.
PB Fintech’s quarterly results were impressive, showing remarkable growth in revenue and a zoom in profits. However, the market’s reaction was subdued, and analysts are divided between buy and sell recommendations. Caution is needed because two of the leading products—Policybazaar and PaisaBazaar—yielded low margins. Furthermore, the credit business, especially unsecured lending, is slowing down following mandates from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Another risk is the potential for policy lapses leading to clawbacks on commissions already booked as revenue.
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.
India’s fintech sector has finally been bitten by the gold bug. Fintechs are exploring gold-linked products like digital gold savings, gold loans (credit), and gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs). However, there are two problems for fintechs looking to sell gold products: regulatory hurdles and the small revenue pool. The total revenue pool for Indian fintechs from all major gold-linked products is estimated at about Rs 1,500-2,000 crore annually. The Finance Ministry is preparing a regulatory framework for digital gold, and the RBI is considering rules for gold leasing, following a crackdown on peer-to-peer lending.
The year after the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) action against Paytm Payments Bank started hard for the company, threatening its operational existence. However, Paytm is showing signs of recovery. In the December quarter, its revenue came in at ₹1,901 crore. The company bagged the National Payments Corporation of India’s approval for a Third-Party Application Provider (TPAP) license, marking a key regulatory milestone. CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma has emphasized compliance.
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.
