Paytm MTU reaches 89 mn, steps up offline payments leadership with 6.4 mn devices

Leading digital payments and financial services firm Paytm on Monday said consumer engagement on its Paytm Super App saw robust growth, with the average monthly transacting users (MTU) for the two months ended February 2023 at 89 million, registering a 28 per cent growth year-on-year.

The fintech firm said it was seeing consistent growth in merchant payments volume with the total merchant gross merchandise value (GMV) processed through the platform for the two months ended February 2023 aggregating to ₹2.34 lakh crore (USD 28.3 billion), marking a year-on-year growth of 41 per cent. "Our focus over the past few quarters continues to be on payment volumes that generate profitability for us, either through net payments margin or from direct upsell potential," said Paytm, pioneer of QR and mobile payments in India, in a statement on Monday.

The fintech giant's focus on creating additional payment monetisation with subscription services has continued to expand. Paytm's leadership in offline payments strengthened further with 6.4 million merchants now paying subscription for payment devices, an increase of 0.3 million in the month of February 2023. "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," Paytm said in its stock exchange filing.

The company's loan distribution business, in partnership with top lenders, continues to witness accelerated growth with disbursements through the platform for the two months ended February 2023 growing 286 per cent year-on-year to ₹8,086 crore (USD 979 million).

The number of loans disbursed in the two months surged 94 per cent to 7.9 million loans. Paytm said it continues to work with its lending partners to remain focused on the quality of the book, adding its payments consumer and merchant base offers a large addressable market.

In its recently announced October-December quarter (Q3FY23) results, Paytm achieved the milestone of operating profitability, nine months ahead of its September 2023 guidance. The company's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (Ebitda) before employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) cost stood at ₹31 crore with Ebitda before ESOP margin at 2 per cent of revenues as compared to (27 per cent) a year ago. The fintech pioneer's revenue from operations increased 42 per cent year-on-year to ₹2,062 crore, driven by growth in its core payments business and sustained growth momentum in the credit business and commerce business.