Paytm strengthens offline payments with 6.1 mn devices, monthly transacting users hit 89 mn in Jan

Noida (Uttar Pradesh) [India], February 8 (ANI): India’s leading payments and financial services Paytm has announced its business operating performance for the month of January 2023. With the average monthly transacting users (MTU) for January 2023 at 89 million, registering a 29 per cent year-on-tear (YoY) increase, consumer engagement continues to grow on the Super App.

Through a focus on creating payment monetisation, Paytm’s aim is to expand its subscription services. The company continues to dominate the offline payments market with 6.1 million merchants now paying subscriptions for payment devices, an increase of 0.3 million in the month of January 2023. In its stock exchange filing on Wednesday, Paytm said, “With our subscription as a service model, the strong adoption of devices drives subscription revenues and higher payment volumes, while increasing the funnel for our merchant loan distribution.”

The company has seen a consistent growth in merchant payments volume with the total gross merchandise value (GMV) processed through the Paytm platform grew 44 per cent YoY aggregating to Rs 1.2 lakh crore (USD 15 billion) for the month of January 2023. “Our focus over the past few quarters continues to be on payment volumes that generate profitability for us, either through net payments margin or from direct upsell potential,” the company said.

Paytm’s loan distribution business, in partnership with marquee lenders, continues to witness an accelerated growth with disbursements through the platform growing 327 per cent YoY to Rs 3,928 crore (USD 480 million). The total number of loans disbursed surged 103 per cent YoY with 3.9 million loans disbursed in January 2023. Emphasising on its focus on the quality of the book, the company said, “Our payments consumer and merchant base offers a large addressable market, thereby providing a long runway for growth.”

In its recently announced December quarter (Q3FY23) results, Paytm achieved its milestone of operating profitability, much ahead of its September 2023 guidance. The company’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (Ebitda) before employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) cost stood at Rs 31 crore with Ebitda before ESOP margin at 2 per cent of revenues as compared to (27 per cent) a year ago. The fintech giant’s revenue from operations increased 42 per cent YoY to Rs 2,062 crore, driven by growth in its core payments business and sustained growth momentum in credit business and commerce business.