Paytm Payments Bank to launch in Delhi NCR today

New Delhi: Paytm Payments Bank is set to go live on Tuesday with a select first-phase rollout by offering accounts on an invite-only basis to consumers largely in north India, and said it would invest about Rs400 crore over the next two years to build its banking network across the country.
The first physical branch of Paytm Payments Bank will go live in Noida on Tuesday.
The bank plans to expand its physical presence to 31 branches and 3,000 customer service points in the first year.
The firm is targeting 500 million customers by 2020.
“We will first start the services in Delhi-NCR followed by the second phase of launch in other top metro cities,” said Vijay Shekhar Sharma, founder of One97 Communication Ltd, which owns Paytm, over phone.
The second phase of the rollout is expected after three months.
The company is expecting a customer acquisition cost of Rs125-150 crore over the next 12 months.
Paytm Payments Bank will offer accounts with a zero balance requirement and every online transaction such as immediate payment service, national electronic funds transfer, real-time gross settlement will be offered free of charge. For savings accounts, the company will also offer an interest of 4% per annum, much lower than competitor Airtel Payment Bank’s interest offering of 7.2%.
Paytm Payments Bank will offer current accounts to its millions of merchants.
Paytm Payments Bank will also offer a cashback of Rs250 to its first million customers who reach a deposit of Rs25,000.
According to Sharma, the free of charge fund transfers and between Paytm wallets will make them “the most compelling bank account and wallet for consumers”.
“This is the best value proposition we have offered,” he said.
The company will issue debit cards with an annual fee of Rs100 in partnership with Rupay.
Paytm Payments Bank has already received investment of about Rs220 crore from One97 Communications Ltd and its founder Sharma in November. Sharma was one of the 11 recipients of RBI’s payments bank licence and has personally invested Rs112 crore of the total investment received.
“RBI has given us an opportunity to create a new kind of banking model in the world. We are proud that our customer deposits will be safely invested in government bonds, and be used for nation building. None of our deposits will be converted in to risky assets,” said Sharma, who is also chairman of Paytm Payments Bank.
The company said in a statement that it will roll out its beta banking app for its employees and associates and that Paytm customers can request an invite by going to PaytmPaymentsBank.com or on the Paytm iOS app.
“Our ambition is to become India’s most trusted and consumer-friendly bank. Leveraging power of technology, we aim to become the preferred bank for 500 million Indians by 2020,” said Renu Satti, chief executive at Paytm Payments Bank.
The firm said it will move all active wallet accounts on the Paytm app to the payments bank.
But it will allow users, who do not wish to transfer their accounts, to opt out by a written request; accounts dormant for six months and having zero balances, Paytm will transfer wallets only when the user notifies it to do so.
In November, Bharti Airtel became the first payment bank to start operations followed by India Post Payment Bank.