Worried Paytm Payments Bank employees turn job hunters ahead of RBI deadline

Paytm Payments Bank

Ahead of the deadline set by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Paytm Payments Bank Ltd (PPBL), several PPBL employees are aggressively looking out for jobs .

Moneycontrol has learnt from eight employees, majorly from the information technology (IT) and operations department of PPBL, that due to some projects kept on hold and some interchangeability of roles within different departments of the bank, employees are aggressively looking for new jobs in the market.

All the employees requested anonymity.

One of them said that the bank has started to move employees from the developing and backend team to the QR code department of the bank. “Many members of the backend team are being moved to the QR code department. In the QR code team, one has to visit merchants on the ground for business,” the employee said.

Also read: Paytm Payments Bank is not alone; RBI’s punitive actions in last five years

Another employee, who left the bank a few days ago, said that some of his team’s projects were on halt due to the business restrictions on the bank. “Some of our projects are on hold due to the RBI action . Since the past few days, we have been doing very little work,” the employee said.

Some others said that they are looking for a change due to the increasing work pressure and a developing fear that the bank may lose its licence, which may make PPBL inoperative, leading to mass layoffs.

“We are seeing a rise in work pressure recently. Though the bank has not communicated to us concerning any layoffs, there is a concern among employees about the bank losing licence. So, people are aggressively looking out,” the employee said.

Emails sent to PPBL did not elicit any response till the time of publishing this report.

What happened with PPBL?

On January 31, 2024, the RBI barred PPBL from accepting fresh deposits and doing credit transactions after February 29, which was later extended to March 15.

A comprehensive system audit report and subsequent compliance validation report of the external auditors revealed persistent non-compliance and continued material supervisory concerns in the bank, warranting further supervisory action, the RBI had said.

Also read: Paytm Payments Bank says withdrawals smooth, meeting all regulatory requirements

Later, on February 9, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das, while addressing the monetary policy press conference, said all of the regulator’s actions are driven by the need to ensure systemic stability and protect the interests of depositors and customers.

A day later, the board of the Paytm backer, One97 Communications Ltd, formed a panel headed by N Damodaran, a former chairman of Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), to advise PPBL on compliance and regulation.

The other two members of the committee are MM Chitale, a former president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) and former governing Council Member of the Banking Codes and Standards Board of India, and R Ramachandran, a former Chairman and Managing Director of Andhra Bank.

Some media reports said that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had filed a case against the company over alleged Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) violations.

The company issued the following clarification after the media reports.

“One 97 Communications Limited, its subsidiaries and its associate, Paytm Payments Bank Limited, have over time been receiving notices and requisition for information, documents and explanations from the Authorities, including Enforcement Directorate (ED), with respect to the customers that may have done business with the respective entities, and provided the required information, documents and explanations to the Authorities,” the company said.

On March 14, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) granted approval to OCL to participate in UPI services as a Third-Party Application Provider (TPAP) under the multi-bank model. The much-awaited licence would allow Paytm to continue offering Unified Payments Interface (UPI) services to its app users, after PPBL ceases operations today.