As of October 16, 2023, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has granted in-principle authorisation to 37 existing payment aggregators (PAs) and 23 new PAs. Additionally, applications from eight existing and 18 new PAs are currently under review.
Earlier this year, on February 15, the central bank released a list in which it granted in-principle approval to 50 entities for a PA licence. This list included 32 existing entities operating as online PAs and 19 newcomers. At that time, 27 applications were still under scrutiny.
Freecharge Payment Technologies and Tapits Technologies have reapplied for approval after their initial applications were returned. According to RBI guidelines, entities can reapply within 120 days from the date their applications are returned. Notably, Paytm Payment Services also had its application returned on November 25, 2022.
Among the existing PAs, Zaak Epayment Services Private Limited, a subsidiary of fintech platform Mobikwik, has received in-principle authorisation.
The central bank has also returned the applications of 65 entities as of October 16, an increase from the 57 applications returned as of February 15.
First Published: Oct 16 2023 | 8:59 PM IST