Paytm gets government approval to invest in PPSL

New Delhi, August 28 (HS). Paytm brand, an online payment platform wholly owned by financial technology company One97 Communication, has received the approval of the Central Government for 'downstream' investment in Paytm Payments Services Limited (PPSL).
The company informed the stock exchange on Wednesday that it will apply afresh for the payment aggregator (PA) license. Paytm said that PPSL has received approval for investment from the parent company through a letter dated August 27, 2024 from the Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance, Government of India. The company said that Paytm PPSL will re-apply for the payment aggregator license. In the meantime, it will continue to provide online payment aggregator services to existing partners.
Actually, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had rejected Paytm's payment aggregator license permit application in November, 2022. RBI had directed the company to re-apply with Press Note-3 compliance under Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) norms.
It is worth noting that according to Press Note-3, the government had made its prior approval mandatory for investments from countries sharing land borders with India. At the time of rejection of the application, China's Alibaba Group was the largest shareholder in the company.