Paytm parent One97 Communications has ruled out plans to apply for a Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) licence, saying the company prefers to continue operating through partnerships with lending institutions rather than directly taking on lending risk.  

Speaking during the company’s Q4 earnings call on Thursday, Paytm President and Group CFO Madhur Deora said, “We’re not super excited about going for an NBFC licence.”   

He said Paytm remains focused on a “win-win” partnership model in which the company handles distribution, technology, and collections while its lending partners manage capital deployment, credit risk, and cyclicality.   

“We have a very large payments market; that market is growing, and our market share is growing. That, combined with low penetration, means that the opportunity in the short to medium term already is very, very large,” Deora said.   

The comments come amid heightened regulatory scrutiny around the Paytm ecosystem. Last month, the Reserve Bank of India cancelled the banking licence of Paytm Payments Bank for non-compliance with regulatory norms, stating that the bank’s affairs were conducted in a manner detrimental to the interests of depositors.  

The central bank said the payments bank had failed to comply with conditions stipulated under its licence.  

In a regulatory filing, One97 Communications said it has no exposure to Paytm Payments Bank, having fully impaired its investment in the entity as of March 31, 2024.  

Paytm reported consolidated profit of ₹183 cr

Meanwhile, Paytm reported a consolidated profit of ₹183 crore for the quarter ended March 2026, compared with a loss of ₹545 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.   

The company’s consolidated revenue from operations rose 18.4% year-on-year to ₹2,264 crore in the March quarter, up from ₹1,912 crore a year earlier. For the full financial year ended March 2026, Paytm posted a consolidated profit of ₹552 crore, reversing a loss of ₹663 crore in FY25.  

Annual revenue from operations grew 22.2% to ₹8,437 crore in FY26 from ₹6,900 crore in the previous financial year.