Fino Payments Bank is focusing on core payments business to scale itself up and is in 'no rush' to be converted into a small finance bank. In the wake of the lethal coronavirus pandemic, the company does not intend to enter the high risk lending to micro, small and medium (MSME) businesses. The payments bank will decide its conversion into a small finance bank, once the apex banker, i.e., Reserve Bank of India, comes up with the specific guidelines. Also, it will be closely watching the banking ecosystem to stabilize, especially the asset side.

In an interview to Financial Express, Rishi Gupta, Managing Director and CEO of Fino Payments Bank said that lending business is going through a lot of pain and small finance bankers are under severe distress because of their microfinance portfolio.He added that they will have to see how the paradigm of lending business changes in the post pandemic era. The company is doing quite well as a payments bank with limited risk, which is an added advantage. Gupta wants to grow what they are doing. Fino payments will take a final call, once the clarity on asset quality emerges. Last month, the central bank RBI had doubled the maximum limit of funds account holders of payments banks can keep in their accounts to Rs 2 lakh. Joyed after the announcement, Gupta said that RBI's decision would help the company to serve more customers and he is keen on making the core business stronger. Fino Payments Bank has turned profitable at the operating level in FY 2019-20 on the back of lowered expenses. The company generated a revenue of Rs 64 crore and profit after tax (PAT) of Rs 7.67 crore in the fiscal, compared to revenue of Rs 53 crore and net loss of Rs 9.22 crore in the preceding year. Since turning profitable, the company has been able to scale up its business. Gupta said that the company's business has grown manifold in the last four to five year. At the end of March 2021, monthly total value of transactions, including both digital and non-digital modes, was around Rs 14,000 crore compared to Rs 8,500 crore in the year ago period. However, the company is still Ebitda negative on a consolidated basis. In FY 2019-20, the company clocked a revenue of Rs 872 crore, compared to Rs 547 crore in the year ago. However, the net loss of the company sharply narrowed to Rs 20 crore from Rs 73 crore, during the period under review. The company has lowered its debt from Rs 328 crore to Rs 240 crore and is trading at a price-to-book value (P/BV) of Rs 22. The company business has not remained unblemished during the second wave of pandemic. So far, has registered lower transactions in the first quarter of the ongoing fiscal. However, the management is hopeful of turnaround once the infection rates would plunge. The management has shown optimism on vaccination. Its key shareholders consist of names like LIC of India, Bharat Petroleum, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, International Finance Corporation, ICICI Bank, ICICI Lombard General Insurance, Exide Life Insurance, Intel Capital Corporation along with various state owned banking names.