Paytm to launch payments bank on May 23

Digital payment and e-commerce company Paytm has received the final confirmation from the Reserve Bank of India and is set to launch Paytm Payments Bank on May 23. The company’s current vice-president business, Renu Satti, will take over as the chief executive officer of Paytm Payments Bank. Renu Satti has worked with Paytm for ten years. She started as a human resources manager and went on to become company’s vice-president.

According to Paytm’s website, “The core mission of Paytm Payments Bank will be to cater to the requirements of the un-served and under-served communities of India, and bring them to the mainstream economy. We are looking forward to making Paytm Payments Bank available to all our users very soon.”

In order to soothe Paytm wallet users’ concerns, Paytm has clarified that the money in wallets will be transferred to the Paytm Payments Bank Limited as the wallet business will become part of the new company. It will happen automatically, and users need not do anything. It will be similar to other banks who also have their wallet businesses apart from their usual business.

Paytm got the the final nod from the RBI early this year and was planning to start payments bank within a few weeks. However, the launch was delayed due to some concerns. Other than Paytm, Airtel Payments Bank (APB), a joint venture between Bharti Airtel Ltd and Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd was launched in January this year and it is expected to spend INR3,000 crore to develop a pan-India banking network and digital payments ecosystem.