India’s Central Bank Clamps Down on Paytm Operations

Key Takeaways:

• According to Sensor Tower data, downloads of the Paytm mobile app have mostly remained volatile since the Reserve Bank of India issued an order which prevents the parent company from accepting new deposits and processing credit transactions across its services. During the week of 2/5/24, Paytm app downloads declined -24% WoW. The following week (2/12/24), Paytm downloads declined -9% WoW before stabilizing over the next two weeks as downloads increased 5% and 5% each WoW, for the weeks of 2/19/24 and 2/26/24, respectively

  • Paytm app downloads for the week of 2/26/24 were down materially (-56%) compared to the same week in 2023, which may have been driven by the order issued by the Reserve Bank of India or the app’s broader saturation in the Indian market

• Per ST data, Paytm WAUs between 2/5/24 - 3/2/24 have declined an average of -3% WoW since the restrictive regulatory order issued by the Reserve Bank of India (week of 1/29/24). Additionally, Paytm WAUs during the week of 2/26/24 were down -11% compared to the week of 1/29/24. On a YoY basis, Paytm WAUs were down -6% during the week of 2/26/24

  • While Paytm WAUs declined by double-digits for the week of 2/26/24 compared to the week of 1/29/24 (when the order was issued), competitors such as PhonePe, Google Pay, and Airtel saw WAUs remain largely unchanged during this period. However, BHIM, an app developed by the National Payments Corporation of India, saw WAUs increase 11% during that same period

  • During the week directly following the order issued by the Reserve Bank of India (week of 2/5/24), downloads of BHIM soared 125% WoW, compared to -24% for Paytm through the same period. PhonePe saw a similar decline as downloads fell -23% WoW, while Google Pay and Airtel downloads remained largely flat

For more information, request the full report from reports@sensortower.com.