Paytm strengthens in-store payments with 87 Lakh devices deployed, an increase of 5 Lakh devices in a month

India's leading payments and financial services company Paytm today announced its business operating performance for the two months ended 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% YoY.

Paytm continues to strengthen its leadership in payments monetisation with deployment of 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 first-of-its-kind portable device that fits into the pocket, Paytm Pocket Soundbox is designed for merchants on the go like auto drivers, electricians, delivery agents & more. With Paytm Music Soundbox, merchants can connect their phones to the device through bluetooth and listen to music, match commentary etc.

The company has seen a sustained growth in merchant payments volume with the total merchant GMV processed through the platform for July and August was ₹3 Lakh Cr ($36.3 billion), marking a YoY growth of 43%. Paytm said,"We continue to see 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% YoY to ₹10,710 Cr ($1.3 billion). The number of loans disbursed through the Paytm platform for the quarter till date jumped 47% YoY to 88 Lakh. With a focus on calibrating growth to tighten credit quality of loans disbursed through its platform, Paytm 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% - 0.85% from a range of 0.75% - 1.00% 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.

Paytm reported a 39% YoY growth in revenue from operations to ₹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 ₹84 Cr as compared to ₹52 Cr in Q4FY23 (excluding UPI incentives).

Source : Equity Bulls

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One97Communications Paytm InStorePayment Devices August2023