India’s Paytm payments bank, which facilitates transactions on the mobile commerce platform Paytm, is expected to allow it to resume accepting new customers in the coming months, a senior executive told Reuters.

In March, the RBI ordered a full audit of its IT systems, citing “significant” regulatory concerns, without elaborating, and banned it from accepting new clients. The bank is working with the RBI to complete an IT audit and address the regulator’s concerns.

“The process is underway, and we think it should take three to five months,” Madhur Deora, the chief financial officer of Paytm Group, told Reuters on Sunday. Paytm denied a Bloomberg news report in March that the RBI had discovered that its servers were sharing information with Chinese entities that indirectly owned shares in the company. Paytm is backed by China’s Alibaba Group Holding and its affiliate Ant Group.

97 Communications Ltd, the parent company of fintech firm Paytm, reported on Friday that its fourth-quarter loss widened due to higher payment processing, marketing and staff costs. Deora said the company is on track to be profitable by September 2023. “We’re seeing good growth in our high-margin business, and as a result, we’re seeing an improvement in contribution margin.”

“Our overheads won’t grow as fast as last year because we don’t expect to make any significant investments in new business or staff costs this year as we did last year,” he added. Paytm debuted in the country’s largest-ever IPO last November, but shares have fallen 70 per cent since then.