Risk of losing customers: Can Paytm regain users' trust?

In order to attract new customers, fintech firm Paytm has to tap into new financial products, services and increase value propositions for them

- UMA KANNAN

THOUGH One97 Communications, the parent company of Paytm, said that the recent regulatory directive of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is specifically targeted at Paytm Payments Bank Limited (PPBL) and not the broader Paytm ecosystem directly, fintech experts say this crisis is a setback for the company.

Brokerage firm Motilal Oswal Financial Services (MOFSL) says Paytm witnessed a significant decline in its Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) in February, and this trend is likely to persist into March. "While some of this decline can be attributed to the absence of new user additions, there is also a looming risk of losing customers and merchants to competitors. This competition is further impacting overall business activity on the platform," it said in a recent report.

Also, the RBI's restriction on PPBL from accepting new deposits has increased its competitors' app downloads as Google Pay and PhonePe have been witnessing substantial growth. The brokerage firm also anticipates a further decline in UPI transaction volume/value data in March 2024 as well. Paytm's UPI volume market share fell to 10.8% in February compared to 12.7% in the previous month. In value terms, the market share fell to 8.5% in February compared to 10.3% in January.