In a significant leadership change, Surinder Chawla has resigned from his position as the Managing Director and CEO of Paytm Payments Bank Ltd. (PPBL). According to a regulatory filing by parent company One 97 Communications Ltd. (OCL), Chawla cited "personal reasons and the exploration of better career prospects" as the driving factors behind his decision.

Chawla, who had joined PPBL in January 2023, will be relieved from his duties effective June 26, 2024.

The leadership change comes amid a broader restructuring at PPBL. As previously disclosed, the company has terminated nearly all agreements between PPBL and OCL.

The bank's board has been reconstituted, now comprising five independent directors, including an independent chairperson. Notably, there are no longer any nominees from the parent company on the board.

PPBL has been collaborating with banking partners to enhance its merchant acquiring and UPI services, as it navigates a challenging period. The bank was forced to wind down operations effective March 15, 2024, following a crackdown by the Reserve Bank of India for alleged regulatory violations, including inadequate KYC, improper monitoring of fund usage, and unauthorized linkages between the bank and the Paytm payments platform.

Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma had stepped down from the payments bank's board in February 2024. The reconstituted board now includes ex-Central Bank of India Chairman Srinivasan Sridhar, retired IAS officer Debendranath Sarangi, former Executive Director of Bank of Baroda Ashok Kumar Garg, and retired IAS Rajni Sekhri Sibal.

PPBL has secured a Third-Party Application Provider (TPAP) license from the National Payments Corporation of India for its UPI services to adapt to the evolving regulatory landscape.