Paytm Money Enters Research Space With Sebi Nod—Know Its Services

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has granted Certificate of Registration as a Research Analyst to Paytm Money, the wealth management arm of Paytm parent One 97 Communications. The company has revealed this in a stock exchange filing on March 18, making it eligible to function as a registered research analyst.

With this approval, the Noida-based company can now offer various Sebi-compliant research services including investment insights, research reports and data-driven analysis. New services will be integrated into the Paytm Money app under its research and advisory offering.

“This milestone aligns with Paytm Money’s objective to expand its offerings in the investment ecosystem, enhance user experience, and provide expert-backed insights to both retail and institutional investors,” the company said in its filing.

"These services will soon be integrated into the Paytm Money app as part of a research and advisory offering, empowering investors to make well-informed financial decisions," it added.

Meanwhile, One97 Communications' shares surged by 7.6% in today's session, closed at Rs 741, making it one of the top gainers on the Nifty 500 index following the sebi order.

Paytm's Strategic Shift and Regulatory Scrutiny

In an exchange filing on March 4, India's largest fintech player (by revenue) also revealed that Paytm UPI (Unified Payments Interface) supports UPI Trading Blocks, a feature that simplifies trading by enabling users to set up automatic payment deductions from their bank accounts.

Vijay Shekhar Sharma, founder and CEO of Paytm, announced in February this year that the company will focus on payments, credit and wealth management in the next two years. He said that reducing non-core business operations also will be a top priority.

Notably, the company is under regulatory scrutiny as the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has sent a Rs 611.17 crore show-cause notice for an alleged Foreign Exchange Management Act violation.

However, Paytm has assured its customers and merchants that there has been no impact of the matter on Paytm's services and they are are fully operational and secure.