Paytm To File For New Licence For General Insurance, Says ‘Extremely Bullish About Its Potential’

The decision to apply for a new license comes after Paytm and Raheja QBE mutually agreed to discontinue the proposed acquisition of RQBE

Paytm's lending business now has an annualised run rate of Rs 20,000 crore. Image: AFP

New Delhi: Digital payments and financial services company, Paytm, is bullish about the general insurance sector and said it is looking to apply for a licence with a fresh application eying a majority shareholding with a 74 per cent upfront equity stake.

In a regulatory filing, the online payments firm once again stressed on making inroads in the general insurance sector, as it is extremely bullish about its potential, according to the PTI.

"We intend to seek requisite approvals for a new general insurance licence, wherein we hold a 74 per cent majority shareholding upfront," the company said.

The digital payments firm has succeeded in bringing quick response (QR) code and wallet trends in the country, and succeeded entering into financial services as its partner-based lending business has recorded rapid growth.

The increasing penetration of the technology-led insurance in the country has infused confidence in the company to file for a new application, where One 97 Communications Ltd, the parent firm of Paytm, will retain a direct majority shareholding instead of the earlier proposed fully-diluted shareholding of 11 per cent.

The decision to apply for a new license comes after Paytm and Raheja QBE mutually agreed to discontinue the proposed acquisition of RQBE.

In its filing in the exchange, the company said, "Our associate company, Paytm Insuretech Private Limited, had entered into a share purchase agreement to acquire 100 per cent of Raheja QBE General Insurance Company Limited. As the share sale and purchase transaction has not been consummated within the time period envisaged by the parties under the said agreement, the agreement has automatically terminated."

The company shared its business operating update in a separate filing on Sunday for the month of April. According to the latest filing, the company's lending business now has an annualised run rate of Rs 20,000 crore.

In April alone, the company has disbursed 26 lakh loans worth Rs 1,657 crore ($221 million) through its platform. The company also recorded over 100 per cent year-on-year growth in total merchant payments volume or GMV, aggregating to Rs 0.95 lakh crore ($12.7 billion).

Paytm's transacting users on a monthly basis stands at 7.35 crore. In the offline payments segment, the company's total device deployment across India has crossed 30 lakhs.