MAM
Alice Blue hand over its PR duties to Wing Communications
Mumbai: Hyderabad-based digital, PR, and social media agency Wing Communications has bagged the PR mandate for discount brokerage company Alice Blue.
Wing Communications will be in charge of developing strategy-driven PR activities along with media duties for the brand. The aim of the partnership is to highlight Alice Blue as the best customer-preferred financial enabler and reliable partner in the industry, with extensive experience throughout a variety of economic cycles.
Alice Blue CEO and managing director Sidhavelayutham M said, “Wing Communications, being the communication bridge between the speakers, delegates, and the media, has a firm grasp in the PR space. That’s why it will play a pivotal role in placing Alice Blue in the highlights of the domain. Overall, it’s a synergistic partnership. Alice Blue has its stronghold in the stock broker sector, whereas Wing Communications is a medium that makes it reach the masses. Together, both firms can leverage each other’s expertise to help customers get the right solution they require.”
Wing Communications CEO and co-founder Shiva Bhavani added, “Alice Blue is one of India’s leading preferred stock brokers and we are confident that with our PR team expertise, we will be able to position the brand for maximum impact. In this collaboration, we will be executing creative, disruptive, and seamlessly driven impactful PR campaigns that will help in driving more proactive and personalised financial communication that will guide customers and improve overall outcomes.”
Brands
Reserve Bank of India cancels Paytm Payments Bank licence
Central bank cites compliance failures; curbs tighten as wind-up looms
MUMBAI: India’s banking watchdog delivered its sharpest blow yet to Paytm Payments Bank, cancelling its licence and effectively ending its ability to operate as a bank under the law.
The Reserve Bank of India said the entity can no longer conduct banking business under the Banking Regulation Act, citing concerns that its affairs were not being run in the interest of depositors or the public and that it had failed to meet licence conditions.
The move escalates a crackdown that has been building for months. The bank had already been barred from onboarding new customers since March 11, 2022, and later faced restrictions on deposits, credit and wallet top-ups. In January 2024, the central bank ordered it to stop accepting fresh deposits, pointing to persistent non-compliance, including lapses in customer due diligence, use of funds and technology systems.
Operationally, the bank is now on a tight leash. It may process withdrawals of existing deposits and facilitate loan referrals through banking correspondents, but it cannot take fresh deposits.
The central bank said it would apply to the high court to wind up the bank.
Paytm sought to ringfence the fallout. In a regulatory filing, it said the licence cancellation applies to Paytm Payments Bank Limited, a separate entity, and should not be attributed to One 97 Communications. It added that there is no exposure or material business arrangement with the bank and that it operates independently, without Paytm’s board or management involvement.
“As informed earlier, Paytm (One 97 Communications Limited) and its services, which have been operating without interruption, will continue to operate uninterrupted. These include the Paytm app, Paytm UPI, Paytm Gold and all other services offered by its subsidiaries and associated companies,” the company said.
The distinction may reassure users of the app ecosystem, but the regulator’s verdict is unequivocal. After years of warnings, caps and curbs, the payments bank experiment at Paytm is being shut down—decisively, and with little room left to manoeuvre.
