Jio Financial Services denies being in talks to acquire Paytm's wallet biz

Jio Financial Services Ltd (JFSL) late on Monday denied reports saying that it was in talks with Paytm to acquire its wallet business.

In a regulatory filing, the company said, "We clarify that the news item is speculative, and we have not been in any negotiations in this regard."

Earlier, a report in Hindu BusinessLine said that JFSL and HDFC Bank were frontrunners to buy Paytm's wallet business. Following the report, the shares of JFSL soared over 13 per cent, and the BSE sought clarification from the company on the media reports.

Paytm also clarified stating that the news was "speculative, baseless and factually incorrect".

Paytm has been in the news after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on January 31 barred the Paytm Payments Bank from onboarding new users from February 29. Following the news, Paytm's shares plunged 20 per cent and hit the lower circuit.

According to Reuters, the RBI has found hundreds of thousands of accounts at Paytm Payments Bank created without proper identification and has passed the information on to the country's financial crime-fighting agency.

It added that the RBI is concerned that some of the accounts could have been used for money laundering.

Paytm later announced that it would extend its relationship with third-party banks for its payments and financial services products. It clarified that other apps like Paytm and Paytm Money will continue to work as usual after February 29.

However, on Dalal Street, its shares continue to fall. Since January 31, it has lost 43 per cent of its market value. On Monday, its shares fell to Rs 438.5 apiece, just shy of its all-time low of Rs 438.35.