The Paytm Payments Bank panic, and what actually changed

Last week was a field day for #influencers! Thanks to the regulatory action on #Paytm Payments Bank by the Reserve Bank of India (#RBI), cancelling its banking license.
The influencers, as always, created panic, as if something new had happened! The event largely formalises the closure of a non-core, non-contributing entity rather than introducing a fresh financial shock!

This made me explore whether there was any need for panic.

A brief history of RBI actions -
FY22 → Restrictions on onboarding new customers. Total deposits Rs 2642 cr
FY24 → Ban on fresh deposits, wallet top-ups, and credit transactions
Naturally, deposits fell sharply to Rs 588 cr

But here’s the surprising part: even after all this, Rs 428 cr is still lying in these accounts, as of FY25! Meaning, still a lot of users have money parked with the bank! FY26 numbers are not yet published!

That raises an interesting question: Who are these #depositors?
Some of the Possible explanations
- “Too small to care” balances - Many accounts may have ₹10, ₹50, ₹100 lying idle! → Not worth the effort to withdraw
- 'Forgotten accounts' - Old mobile numbers, Dormant wallets, One-time users
- 'Inactive / edge cases' - Users who moved abroad, Deceased account holders

This also highlights an important user behavior in finance, even when there is regulatory action, news is widespread, #Risk is visible, a section of users still does nothing!

As operations wind down, the bank will try to nudge users to withdraw funds.
But realistically, not everyone will be reachable, and eventually, unclaimed balances may have to be transferred as per #regulatory norms!

Curious to hear your thoughts:
Why do you think people still keep money in such accounts despite repeated warnings?