Fintech company One97 Communications, which operates under the Paytm brand, reported loss narrowed to Rs 221.7 crore for the October-December quarter, according to a filing on Friday. The loss in the year-ago period stood at Rs 392.1 crore.

Revenue from operations in the third quarter of FY 2023-24 increased by 38 percent year-on-year to Rs 2,850.5 crore. In a statement, Paytm said its Q3 performance was marked by “significant growth in subscription revenue, improved margins and growth in payments business revenue”.

Paytm’s board also approved investment of Rs 100 crore in Gujarat International Finance Tech-City (GIFT City) to set up a global financial ecosystem. “Leveraging its success in real-time payments, Paytm aims to streamline cross-border remittances with efficient, AI-powered solutions. Additionally, Paytm will invest in setting up a development center in GIFT City to build a technology base for these solutions.

On the Q3 report card, the company said the number of merchants subscribing to Paytm’s payment instruments reached 1.06 crore by December 2023, an increase of 49 lakh year-on-year. The payments business witnessed significant growth, with revenues growing 45 per cent YoY to Rs 1,730 crore and net payments margin growing 63 per cent YoY to Rs 748 crore.

Merchant payment volume (GMV) increased by 47 per cent year-on-year to Rs 5.10 lakh crore. “Revenue from financial services and other segments increased 36 per cent year-on-year to Rs 607 crore due to growth in revenue from personal loans, merchant loan distribution and insurance broking business,” the release said.

Paytm said it will focus on the introduction of new use cases including credit on UPI and autopay to encourage monetizable incremental customer acquisition. “In the financial services sector, the focus has been on widening high-ticket loans by bringing in new lending partners. Along with this, the company is expanding its offering in Embedded Insurance and Merchant Insurance, and is actively cross-selling equity trading to the Paytm consumer base,” it said.

In the December quarter, Paytm distributed loans worth Rs 15,535 crore, an increase of 56 percent. “The total number of unique users availing loans through Paytm platform increased to 1.25 crore from 44 lakh last year,” the company said.

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – PTI)