NEW DELHI: India's top provider of financial services and payments, Paytm, announced on Saturday that it had reached a new milestone in offline transactions with 71 lakh devices deployed. At the same time, Paytm Super App user engagement reached a record high of 9.2 crore average Monthly Transacting Users (MTUs) for the month of April.
The average MTU increased by 25% (year over year), which reflects the fact that Paytm's customer base is still growing. Gross merchandise value (GMV) for merchants increased by 34% in a single month to 1.27 lakh crore ($15.6 billion).
According to Paytm's exchange filing, "our focus over the past few quarters has continued to be on payment volumes that generate profitability for us, either through net payments margin or from direct upsell potential."
In its announcement of its business operating performance for April 2023, the company said that the QR pioneer's loan distribution business, in collaboration with lending partners, also experienced fast growth with disbursements of Rs 4,115 crore (up 148 percent YoY) in April.
In a stock exchange filing, the business stated that "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." With the help of reputable financial institutions, Paytm's loan distribution business is expanding. The total number of loans disbursed through the Paytm platform increased by 41 lakh or 56% year over year.
"We have teamed up with significant NBFCs and Banks, and we remain committed to the calibre of loans provided through our platform. We presently have 7 lending partners, and our goal for FY 2024 is to add another 3 to 4 partners, the business stated.
Paytm released its Q4 FY 2023 earnings on Friday. It recorded a 51% year-over-year increase in operating revenue to Rs 2,334 crore, led by the expansion of the payments and loan distribution businesses.
The business announced operating profit for the second consecutive quarter. EBITDA before ESOP costs, including the full-year UPI incentive, was reported at Rs 234 crore. Paytm met its goal of operating profitability in the preceding quarter, much beyond its September 2023 estimate.