Paytm Payments Bank has appointed Satish Kumar Gupta, as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Managing Director (MD).
The news comes months after, Renu Satti resigned as the bank’s CEO, to head new initiative by Paytm. Paytm Payments Bank finds its third CEO in mere two years, after Shinjini Kumar, an RBI executive, left Paytm in May 2017.
Satish Gupta has over 35 years of experience under his belt. Previously, he worked at State Bank Of India (SBI) as its Deputy General Manager for three decades. He later worked at National Payments Corporation Of India (NPCI) as its Chief Product Officer.
“I have been fortunate to experience the disruption and growth that the Indian economy has witnessed in promoting digital payments. I look forward to leveraging my understanding of banking and payments at Paytm Payments Bank and aligning myself to its vision of bringing financial inclusion through digital payments,” said Gupta.
Paytm Payments Bank has been struggling to find its footing, since its official launch in November 2017.
In June, Paytm Payments Bank had stopped onboarding new customers, following an audit by the RBI, after observing the process followed by the payments bank in acquiring new customers and its KYC norms.
Paytm is still not onboarding new customers, according to a Paytm spokesperson. “Paytm bank is awaiting RBI confirmation on enrolling new customers,” the spokesperson added.
Paytm Payments Bank is a joint entity of Vijay Shekhar Sharma, who owns 51% stake, and One97 Communications owning the rest.
The bank aims to open 500 million bank accounts, providing a banking platform to the underserved Indians.
It is to be noted that Paytm Payments Bank is not the only one to flout RBI guidelines.
Earlier in January, Airtel Payments Bank was by RBI prohibited from opening new bank accounts, after the RBI found out that the accounts were being opened without specific and clear consent from the customers. Later in July, the bank was given RBI’s approval.
In August, RBI had ordered Fino Payments to halt new account opening operations, owing to non-compliance of RBI’s operating guidelines.
Recently, RBI lifted the ban on Fino Payments Bank, it can now open new accounts.