Payments and financial services company, Paytm announced its business operating performance for the two months ending August 2023. Consumer engagement on the Paytm App continues to see robust expansion with the average Monthly Transacting Users (MTU) for the two months ended August 2023 at 9.4 crore, registering a growth of 20 per cent YoY.
The fintech has deployed 87 lakh payment devices as of August 2023, an increase of 42 lakh devices YoY. The company saw an increase of 5 lakh devices in the month. “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,” said Paytm in its stock exchange filing.
The tech innovator recently launched three new devices – Paytm Card Soundbox, Paytm Pocket Soundbox, and Paytm Music Soundbox – further cementing its market leadership in in-store payments. Its latest Paytm Card Soundbox is India’s first Soundbox that accepts both mobile as well as debit and credit card payments across Visa, Mastercard, American Express and RuPay networks.
The company has seen a growth in merchant payments volume with the total merchant GMV processed through the platform for July and August being Rs 3 lakh Cr ($36.3 billion), marking a YoY growth of 43 per cent . The company said, “We continue to see an increase in GMV of non-UPI instruments like EMI and cards. Growth in payments volumes drives profitability for us, through net payments margin and/or from direct upsell potential.”
The fintech giant’s loan distribution business, in partnership with top lenders, continues to witness accelerated growth with disbursements through the platform for the two months ended August 2023 growing 137 per cent YoY to Rs 10,710 Crores ($1.3 billion). The number of loans disbursed through the Paytm platform for the quarter till date jumped 47 per cent YoY to 88 Lakh. With a focus on calibrating growth to tighten the credit quality of loans disbursed through its platform, it said that it has been successful in improving the credit quality for Paytm Postpaid for which ECL has reduced to a range of 0.65 per cent - 0.85 per cent from a range of 0.75 per cent - 1.00 per cent in Q4FY23. It further added that portfolio management of its lending partners remains a key focus and its growth is likely to be subdued till the industry outlook improves.
The company reported a 39 per cent YoY growth in revenue from operations to Rs 2,342 Cr in its recently announced Q1FY24 results (April-June 2023). It has attributed this growth to be driven by an increase in merchant subscription revenue, jump in GMV, and growth in loan disbursements. The company reported an operating profit for the third straight quarter. Its EBITDA before ESOP cost has improved to per cent 84 Cr as compared to per cent 52 Cr in Q4FY23 (excluding UPI incentives).
