A Study of Payment Banks in India (With Special Reference to Paytm)

India began the transition to digital payments after the demonetization. The goal of digitization is to make basic financial services accessible to everybody, however, some undeserving people continue to live in remote areas outside the reach of financial services. The research looks at how newly licensed payment banks might engage with disadvantaged and migrant groups within the demographic pie to effectively achieve the inclusion goals of the Indian banking regulator. Financial inclusion is a significant step towards inclusive growth; thus, the article tries to explore how payment banks are facilitating the achievement of financial inclusion throughout the nation, with special reference to Paytm Payment Bank. The study uses descriptive and exploratory research design. The exploratory study is conducted using secondary data sources and the descriptive study is conducted using a well-structured questionnaire and statistical analysis was done to arrive at the results. Findings suggest that age, gender, occupation and educational qualification are associated with the preference to use payment banks and no association has been found between gender, age and educational qualification with the frequency of using Paytm Payment Bank. Results also reveal the positive and negative correlation between various variables. This study will assist numerous scholars and institutions in better understanding the meaning of payment banks and their role and contribution in financial inclusion.