UPI transactions: Fintech firm One97 Communications, which owns the Paytm brand, does not see any impact of the reduced incentives set by the government in the Budget to promote small ticket digital transactions, a top company official said. Speaking on the occasion of launching the “Card NFC Soundbox” machine, Paytm CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma denied any impact of the reduced allocation of incentives for promoting small ticket digital transactions on its guidance on profitability this fiscal. “We are committed to do the same (achieving a profitable quarter this fiscal) as we have already said without the UPI incentive,” Sharma said. The government has reduced the incentive allocation for RuPay and UPI transactions by about 42 per cent in the Budget. Sharma had given guidance of achieving a profitable quarter during the current fiscal during the company’s earnings call. “My team and we are also committed to ensuring that we get back to profitable quarters very soon. We are hoping and working to ensure that we deliver at least one profitable quarter this financial year, as we are able to see a lot more clarity on our path,” Sharma said. Paytm reported widening of losses to Rs 840 crore in the quarter ended June 30, 2024. The company had reported a loss of Rs 358.4 crore in the same period a year ago. Consolidated revenue during the quarter declined 33.48 per cent to Rs 1,639.1 crore from Rs 2,464.2 crore in the same period a year ago. Discussing Paytm’s Card NFC Soundbox, which combines card-based payments with QR code-based payments, Sharma said the new device covers a very niche segment and is in line with the company’s intent to cover every use case in the payments segment. Sharma said the new device The new device will also be available for rent at Rs 150, same as the old device, and merchants can ask to upgrade their existing device without paying any additional amount. The company said that more than 1 crore merchants are using the Soundbox machine. The new device will come with a payment cap of Rs 5,000 per transaction. Sharma also said that the company is working on dynamic QR code technology which will create different QR codes for different payments.
