Paytm Payments Bank's Operational Halt Prompts Consumer Shift As Competitors Witness Surge In Download Figures

Paytm continues to face intensified scrutiny following a notice issued by the Reserve Bank of India to its lending arm, resulting in the suspension of its core operational services.

At the pace of this development, competitors like PhonePe, BHIM, and Google Pay are witnessing an uptick in app downloads, indicating that consumers are seeking alternative service providers, as per a report by moneycontrol.

Citing data from app intelligence firm Appfigures, the report signified that PhonePe observed a 45 per cent week-on-week increase in app downloads, totaling 2.79 lakh downloads on February 3 compared to 1.92 lakh downloads on January 29. Within a four-day period following the RBI order, PhonePe experienced a 24.1 per cent rise in app downloads, increasing from 8.4 lakh downloads between January 24 and January 27 to 10.4 lakh downloads between January 31 and February 3.

Lately, PhonePe has intensified its marketing display to draw both consumers and merchants to its offerings. Following this, the fintech company has risen to the top position in the free apps section on both Google Play Store and Apple App Store in India. The company's subsidiary unit, PhonePe Business, geared towards businesses, has also witnessed a strong increase in its app rankings, signaling a rising trend in its popularity among merchants.

NPCI's (National Payments Corporation of India) BHIM app logged 1.35 lakh downloads on February 3, marking a 21.5 per cent increase from 1.11 lakh downloads on January 27. Between January 31 and February 3, BHIM witnessed a 50 percent surge in downloads to 5.93 lakh, up from 3.97 lakh in the previous week.

Meanwhile, Google Pay also witnessed a slight uptick in its app downloads, registering 1.09 lakh downloads on February 3, reflecting a 4.9 per cent rise compared to 1.04 lakh downloads on January 27.