On Feb. 16, as Paytm Payments Bank users were going through the Reserve Bank of India’s FAQs, answers on Paytm Payments Bank Wallet and the money in it stood out.
Users can continue to use, withdraw, or transfer to another wallet or bank account up to the balance available in the wallet, even after March 15, 2024, it said. Minimum KYC wallets though, can be used only for merchant payments, it added.
While these FAQs may have seemed reassuring for PPBL wallet users, the reality for full KYC wallet holders has been far from ideal.
Nine wallet users that NDTV Profit spoke to were unable to execute money transfers to other wallets or bank accounts. Despite possessing a wallet with balance, and full KYC in place, individuals found themselves restricted solely to transferring funds to those with a Paytm Payments Bank wallet.
Transactions done by NDTV Profit, too, faced these hurdles.
Similar complaints flooded social media platform X, formerly Twitter.
While the reasons for such dissonance between a promised functionality and actual experience of wallet users is unknown, Paytm Payments Bank assures that customers with fully verified KYC can transfer money to other bank accounts, “without hassle”.
In an emailed response to NDTV Profit’s queries, the payments bank reiterated this assurance.
“Users with only minimum KYC, as per the regulations, are restricted from transferring funds to bank accounts, but may continue to use their balance for transactions with merchants as before,” it said.
All wallet users also have the option to close their wallet and transfer the remaining funds to a bank account, the company said.
Notably, the wallet has also been rebranded to Paytm Payments Bank Wallet (as shown in images 1 and 2 above), marking a shift from its previous identity as the Paytm Wallet (as shown in image 3, below). This move indicates potential efforts to distinguish the parent company, One97 Communications Ltd., from Paytm Payments Bank.
Payment woes extend beyond the wallet to even Paytm FASTag users.
Several complaints on X indicate that users are unable to do any transactions via their FASTag accounts, if they just have minimum balance of Rs 150. In some instances, they are even unable to get a refund of this amount, despite deactivating their FASTag.
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