The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced that it has banned Paytm Payments Bank from onbaording new customers with immediate effect.

The RBI in a statement said, “Reserve Bank of India has today, in the exercise of its powers, inter alia, under section 35A of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, directed Paytm Payments Bank Ltd to stop, with immediate effect, onboarding of new customers.”

The RBI has also directed Paytm Payments Bank to appoint an IT audit firm to conduct a comprehensive system audit of its IT system.

“The bank has also been directed to appoint an IT audit firm to conduct a comprehensive System Audit of its IT system. Onboarding of new customers by Paytm Payments Bank Ltd will be subject to specific permission to be granted by RBI after reviewing report of the IT auditors,” the statement said.

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“This action is based on certain material supervisory concerns observed in the bank,” the central bank added.

Paytm (a partial abbreviation for "pay through mobile") is an Indian multinational technology company that specializes in digital payment system, e-commerce and financial services, based in Noida. Paytm is currently available in 11 Indian languages and offers online use-cases like mobile recharges, utility bill payments, travel, movies, and events bookings as well as in-store payments at grocery stores, fruits and vegetable shops, restaurants, parking, tolls, pharmacies and educational institutions with the Paytm QR code.

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