Paytm: the RBI's payments-bank action, a SEBI warning and the FEMA matters
Paytm: the RBI's payments-bank action, a SEBI warning and the FEMA matters: a public-record watch file compiled by Falling Shares Intelligence from filings and exchange disclosures, as of 2026-11-08. On 31 January 2024 the RBI restricted Paytm Payments Bank under Section 35A citing persistent non-compliances.
From the January 2024 RBI restrictions on Paytm Payments Bank to the ED notice and RBI compounding orders: what the public record shows.
Falling Shares Intelligence, Edited by Wung Thomas, Editor-in-Chief. As of .
Summary
- On 31 January 2024 the RBI restricted Paytm Payments Bank under Section 35A citing persistent non-compliances.
- SEBI issued an administrative warning to the parent in July 2024 over related-party transactions with the bank.
- The ED issued a show cause notice in March 2025 over about Rs 611 crore of alleged FEMA contraventions; the RBI has since partly compounded the matters.
- This file is a draft: several items rest on news reports, and we found no final ED adjudication order.
Key figures
| RBI action | 31 Jan 2024 (Section 35A directions against Paytm Payments Bank) |
|---|---|
| ED alleged contraventions | about Rs 611 crore (Show cause notice, 3 Mar 2025) |
| RBI compounding fee | Rs 18.76 lakh (Order disclosed Feb 2026) |
RBI's action on Paytm Payments Bank
RBI restricts Paytm Payments Bank under Section 35A
Under Section 35A of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, the RBI barred Paytm Payments Bank from accepting fresh deposits, credits or top-ups in customer accounts, wallets, FASTags and similar instruments after 29 February 2024, and barred most other banking services including UPI, citing persistent non-compliances and continued material supervisory concerns found in a comprehensive system audit and a later compliance validation. It directed that nodal accounts of One97 Communications and Paytm Payments Services be terminated. (31 Jan 2024)
Earlier RBI direction on customer onboarding
The 2024 action followed a March 2022 RBI direction that barred the bank from onboarding new customers. (11 Mar 2022)
ED preliminary inquiry into the bank reported to find no FEMA violation
Reports in 2024 said the Enforcement Directorate's preliminary inquiry into the bank had not found FEMA violations, although other reports referred to KYC non-compliance. (2024)
Parent-company matters: SEBI and the ED
SEBI administrative warning over related-party transactions
SEBI issued an administrative warning to One97 Communications over transactions with Paytm Payments Bank in FY2021-22 that, it said, lacked audit committee or shareholder approval, and asked the board to review it and report within ten days. The company said there was no impact on its financial or operational activities. (15 Jul 2024)
ED show cause notice over alleged FEMA contraventions
The ED issued a show cause notice to One97 Communications, its managing director and subsidiaries Little Internet and Nearbuy India, alleging FEMA contraventions of about Rs 611 crore, chiefly relating to foreign investment received without following RBI pricing guidelines. (3 Mar 2025)
RBI compounding order on Little Internet investments
One97 Communications disclosed an RBI compounding order imposing a fee of Rs 18.76 lakh for past investments in Little Internet by a Singapore entity, saying there was no material impact on its financials or operations. (3 Feb 2026)
Standard
This file compiles regulator orders, tribunal rulings, exchange filings, company statements and published reporting about One 97 Communications Limited (Paytm). Allegations are attributed to the authority or outlet that made them and are labelled as allegations. Regulatory orders described here may be interim, may rest on prima facie findings, and may be appealed. Individuals are not named; roles are used. Where a source is a news report rather than the order itself, the entry says so. This is news coverage for information only, not investment advice.
Right of reply
One 97 Communications Limited, and anyone named in a record cited here, can send corrections or comments to info@fallingshares.com (or directly to the Editor-in-Chief, Wung Thomas, at wungthomas@fallingshares.com). Material responses will be published alongside the relevant entry.