Paytm's loan disbursals more than doubled to Rs 9,618 crore in Apr and May

In the first two months of 2023-24 (April and May), the total loan disbursals via Paytm stood at Rs 9,618 crore, according to a regulatory filing by its parent One97 Communications Ltd on Monday. This is 169 per cent higher than Rs 3,576 crore recorded in these two months last year. In May alone, the platform lent loans worth Rs 5,502 crore.

The total number of loans was up 54 per cent to 8.5 million during the period as compared to 5.5 million in the same period last year.

"We continue to see growth in the distribution of postpaid and personal loans. We have partnered with large NBFCs and banks and we continue to focus on the quality of loans distributed through our platform. We currently have 7 lending partners and we aim to onboard 3-4 partners in FY24," the company said.

The Paytm mobile application's monthly transacting users (MTUs) saw a year-on-year (YoY) growth of 24 per cent to 92 million. Additionally, the total gross merchandise value (GMV), which shows the total sales through the platform, registered a growth of 35 per cent in the first two months of FY24 to Rs 2.65 trillion. It was Rs 1.96 trillion in the same period last year.

"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," the company said.

It added that the company added 400,000 new merchants who pay for its payment devices in May. The total number of such merchants stands at 7.5 million.

"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," it said in the filing.

In the last quarter of FY23, which ended on March 31, the company registered a 253 per cent growth in the total value of loans disbursed to Rs 12,554 crore. The total number of loans grew 82 per cent to 11.9 million.