RazorPay, Pine Labs among others to get RBI's nod for payment aggregator licence: Report

The central bank has been holding presentation with the applicants over the past few months.

According to an ET report, the RBI is now likely to release a full list of the players who have been approved to operate as payment aggregators in the country.

The payment aggregator framework that came into force in March 2020 mandates that only entities approved by RBI can acquire and offer services to merchants.

The firms who receive licences to act as payment aggregators will come under the direct purview of the RBI, the report said, adding that many industry insiders say that this will lead to a standardised and regulated payment ecosystem.

Payment aggregators must show a net worth of Rs 15 crore on the date of their applications or as of March-end 2021, and of Rs 25 crore by the end of the ongoing fiscal year (FY23), according to the RBI rules.

At least 185 fintech companies, including big players like Cred, Razorpay, and PhonePe, had submitted proposals seeking payment aggregator licences, the ET report said.

The firms that had applied for aggregator licence had come under the scanner of the central bank for issues pertaining to know-your-customer (KYC), past dealings with cryptocurrency exchanges and gaming apps, and for non-compliance with the net worth criteria stipulated by RBI.

RBI has been also prompt in informing the applicants whose licences have been rejected. In case of such a rejection, a merchant has three months to stop using the payment gateway, the ET report said, adding that the regulator is mulling to expand this time frame to six months.