News Summary

Indian fintech giant Paytm has received significant approval from the Reserve Bank of India to operate as a payment services provider for online merchants. This regulatory breakthrough comes shortly after a key investor, China’s Ant Group, sold its remaining stake in the company. The approval allows Paytm to act as an online payment aggregator, lifting previous restrictions on merchant onboarding. This move enables Paytm to control more of its value chain and reduce dependency on bank partners. Despite trailing behind competitors in the UPI market, Paytm’s diverse offerings and recent financial improvements, including a net income turnaround and share price rise, indicate a regaining of market confidence.