Paytm Cloud Floats New Subsidiary In UAE, Infuses $2.1 Mn

Fintech major Paytm’s arm Paytm Cloud Technologies Ltd (PCTL) has incorporated a wholly owned subsidiary in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). 

In an exchange filing, Paytm said that the PCTL’s board also approved a subscription amount of AED 8 Mn ($2.1 Mn or INR 18.41 Cr) for the acquisition of 80,000 equity shares in the newly floated subsidiary, Paytm Arab Payments LLC. 

“Paytm Arab Payments LLC will work towards expansion and distribution of Paytm’s technology led merchant payments and financial services stack in UAE,” the filing said. 

The fintech company said that no governmental or regulatory approval is required for incorporating the new subsidiary. 

This comes three months after Paytm, in January, announced that the PCTL would set up a wholly owned subsidiary in the UAE. At the time, the company also said that it would establish subsidiaries in Saudi Arabia and Singapore to expand and monetise its tech-enabled payments and financial services in international markets.

The listed fintech giant then said that it was exploring various options, including inorganic expansion, local licences, strategic investment, and partnerships to expand its presence in the three overseas markets.

The development comes at a time when the fintech juggernaut has launched a slew of new offerings and shifted its focus back on core digital payments business, following the RBI’s crackdown on Paytm Payments Bank last year. 

The overseas expansion is likely an extension of the company’s bid to further scale up its products to other countries and create alternate streams of revenues. Complementing this was the launch of an upgraded version of its soundbox device, which features a built-in digital screen for instant visual payment alerts, earlier this month.

Earlier this year, markets regulator SEBI also granted approval to the company’s investment tech arm Paytm Money to act as a research analyst. Brokerage firm Motilal Oswal believes that this could pave the way for Paytm to diversify into the wealth management space, potentially unlocking a new “fee-based” revenue stream.

Paytm has also been looking to apply for a payment aggregator licence via Paytm Payment Services Limited (PPSL). The new launches are part of the company’s bid to shore up its top line and turn profitable. 

Meanwhile, its cofounder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma has reiterated several times over the past few months that Paytm is on track to clock a profit in the first quarter (Q1) of the fiscal year 2025-26 (FY26). 

Paytm trimmed its consolidated net loss by 6% to INR 208.5 Cr in Q3 FY25 from INR 221.7 Cr in the year-ago quarter. Meanwhile, revenue from operations declined 36% to INR 1,827.8 Cr during the quarter under review from INR 2,850.5 Cr in Q3 FY24. 

Shares of Paytm ended today’s trading session 0.72% lower at INR 864.30 on the BS