New Delhi, March 1 (IANS): India's homegrown Paytm Payments Bank has announced that it has issued seven million Visa debit cards through its platform in FY'21. The Bank has overachieved its target of issuing one million Visa cards in FY'21, driven by the strong adoption of innovative products developed by the bank and the acceptance of digital payments in India.

With this, the Bank continues to drive financial inclusion in India by enabling users with digital payments and access to financial services.

To bring more convenience for cardholders, the Bank had earlier enabled its customers to make international transactions using their Visa debit cards. The Bank also offers a completely digital process to apply and track updates for the card.

Satish Gupta, MD and CEO, Paytm Payments Bank Ltd said: "We are driving financial inclusion and ensuring access to the best of digital banking products to Indians. The increased demand for Paytm Payments Bank's Visa card is just another example of the strong reach and adoption of the Bank's products and services."

Sujai Raina, Head – Business Development, Visa India said: "At Visa, we are happy to be playing an integral part in the swift adoption of digital payments in India. Our partnership with Paytm Payments Bank is an example of this and has only grown from strength to strength, empowering millions of customers with the ubiquitous Visa debit card, in physical and virtual forms. With the Bank's reach and product proposition, coupled with the widespread acceptance of Visa credentials, we expect this partnership to continue driving the inclusion of new customers and salience of digital payments."

Paytm Payments Bank has made several strides in the digital banking industry. Earlier, the Bank had also enabled the Paytm Transit Card, which works as a NCMC inter-operable physical mobility card, which drives the government's One Nation, One Card initiative, bringing convenience to millions of Indians. The Paytm Transit Card gives Indians one physical card for all their everyday needs — from travel in metro, railways, state-owned bus services, toll & parking charges to payments at offline merchant stores, online shopping and more.

Paytm Payments Bank has seen rapid growth led by the widespread adoption of the company's innovative banking products across the country. The bank is profitable for three years in a row and recorded a 25.8 per cent increase in PAT (profit after taxes) to Rs 37.5 crore in FY21, up from Rs 29.8 crore in FY20. The bank's annual revenue for FY21 stood at Rs 2,200 crore. Paytm Payments Bank, the largest UPI beneficiary bank, recorded over 957 million UPI transactions in January, 2022. It also continues to lead in FASTag, with over 1.29 crore issuances across the country.