Indian payments giant Paytm has seen its shares price drop 20% for the second day running – knocking around $2 billion off its market value – after its banking business was hit with strict curbs by the RBI.
Shares in Paytm fell to 487 rupees within minutes of the market opening on Friday, triggering the circuit that temporarily halts trading for the second day running.
Earlier in the week, the Reserve Bank of India ordered that from end-February Paytm Payment Bank will be barred from further deposits, credit transactions, wallet uploads or fund transfers.
This will leave millions of customers unable to use a host of the app’s services unless a new banking partner is secured.
The RBI made its move after a comprehensive systems audit ordered by the central bank revealed “persistent non-compliances and continued material supervisory concerns in the bank, warranting further supervisory action”.
Paytm CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma has sought to reassure customers and the market that new banking partnerships will “not be difficult to execute” and that “your favourite app is working, will keep working beyond 29 February as usual.”
“For every challenge, there is a solution and we are sincerely committed to serve our nation in full compliance,” he wrote on X.
