Mumbai: The Paytm Payments Bank Limited (PBBL) has been directed to stop adding new customers to its platform until the assessment of the Income Tax audit, which has been ordered by the Reserve Bank of India.
Through a circular, RBI has ordered the PBBL to stop onbaording new customers with immediate effect and to appoint an I-T audit firm to conduct a comprehensive System Audit of its I-T system.
The statement further added that the direction has been given on the basis of certain material supervisory concerns observed in the bank.
The new direction came after the report that the Paytm Payments Bank is expected to apply for a small finance bank (SFB) licence with the RBI in June. Paytm Payments Bank has completed five years of its existence.
In December 2021, the company was approved to operate as a scheduled bank by the RBI. It was included in the second schedule to the RBI Act of 1934.
The approval allowed Paytm Payment Bank to participate in requests for proposals issued by the government as well as big corporates, and fixed and variable rate repos, among other things. With this, the bank also became eligible to become a partner in the government's financial inclusion scheme.