Paytm has no plans to apply for NBFC license
What's the story
One97 Communications, which operates the Paytm brand, has announced that it has no plans to apply for a Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) license. The announcement was made by Madhur Deora, President and Group CFO of Paytm, during the company's Q4 earnings call on Thursday. He said, "We're not super excited about going for an NBFC license."
Business strategy
Lending operations
Deora emphasized Paytm's preference for a "win-win" partnership model in its lending operations. He said, under this model, Paytm would take care of distribution, technology, and collections while its blue-chip lending partners would handle capital, risk, and cyclicality. The statement comes after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) canceled the banking license of Paytm Payments Bank (PPBL) over non-compliance with norms.
Market potential
Payments market
Deora also highlighted the growth potential of Paytm in the payments market. He said, "We have a very large payments market; that market is growing, and our market share is growing." He added that the combination of low penetration and growing market share presents a huge opportunity for the company in the short to medium term.
Financial performance
Profit in Q4FY26
In its Q4 earnings report, Paytm posted a consolidated profit of ₹183 crore for the quarter ending March 2026. This is a major turnaround from a loss of ₹545 crore in the same period last year. The company's consolidated revenue from operations also grew by 18.4% to ₹2,264 crore during this period, up from ₹1,912 crore in the March 2025 quarter.
Yearly performance
Annual profit for FY26
For the financial year ending March 2026, Paytm posted a consolidated profit of ₹552 crore as opposed to a loss of ₹663 crore in FY25. The company's annual revenue from operations also saw a significant increase of 22.2%, rising to ₹8,437 crore in FY26 from ₹6,900 crore in FY25. This shows the company's strong financial performance over the past year.