Paytm records 912 crore merchant transactions in Q2FY24

One97 Communications Ltd (OCL), the parent company of Paytm, released its 2023 Recap, announcing that as many as 912 crore merchant transactions were facilitated using Paytm in the second quarter of the fiscal year 2024.

Interestingly, the maximum number of payments have been made on Saturdays, marking it to be the busiest day in the week for digital transactions. When it comes to making most payments between 12 to 6 AM, Delhi emerged as Paytm’s night owl, trouncing cities like Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai, and Goa.

The company’s report shows the widespread adoption of Paytm-pioneered QR codes and exemplifies it by saying that if all the Paytm QR codes used this year were stacked up, it would be taller than 40 Qutub Minars.

“The company is taking digital payments far and wide, driving financial inclusion as it is being embraced by farthest corners of the country, with users from places like Dharwas in Himachal Pradesh and Laitmawsiang in Meghalaya,” says the report.

The most common payment amount recorded was ₹20, reflecting the user preference for smaller transaction sizes. Paytm’s contribution to facilitating the payment of over 55 lakh ‘challans’, totalling more than ₹179 crore, has provided users with means to settle fines and dues.

Reflecting support for businesses of all sizes, users made payments to a merchant base of 3.75 crore across the country this year.

“As the pioneer of QR code, soundbox, and mobile payments in India, we continue to see widespread acceptance of Paytm, with increased adoption among both consumers and merchants. In 2023, we achieved new milestones and further cemented our leadership in payments. We continue to lead technology for India’s small shops and remain focused on driving financial inclusion in India,” says Paytm’s spokesperson.

Being the first to launch QR code-based payments, and instant audio confirmations with Soundbox devices, this year, the company launched three new Paytm Soundbox devices for merchants — Pocket Soundbox, Music Soundbox, and Card Soundbox.

Recently, the Noida-based fintech major has seen a dip in its shares, with the decline being a consequence of job cuts undertaken by the company, which described the move as a ‘slight reduction' to its workforce.

“We will be able to save 10-15% in employee costs as artificial intelligence (AI) has delivered more than we expected it to. Additionally, we constantly evaluate cases of non-performance throughout the year. Insurance and Wealth will be a logical expansion of our platform, in continuation of our focus on the existing businesses,” a spokesperson from Paytm said in a statement.

In the coming year, Paytm says it plans to increase manpower by 15,000. "With a dominant position in the payments platform and a proven profitable business model, we will continue to innovate for India. In this, insurance and wealth will be a logical expansion of our platform, continuing our focus on the existing businesses," the spokesperson added.

Moreover, following RBI's recent move to increase risk weights on unsecured lending, Paytm’s shares plummeted after the company announced it will further expand its business to offer higher ticket personal and merchant loans, while it will reduce small-ticket postpaid loans of less than ₹50,000.

At the time of reporting, the shares of the company were trading 0.20% lower at ₹633.50.