RBI Grants Payment Aggregator Licence To Razorpay, Pine Labs

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) approved for a payment aggregator licence to top fintech companies including online payment gateways Razorpay, Stripe, and Pine Labs, according to sources.

The sources stated that the RBI is soon to unveil the whole list of businesses that received approvals.

As many as 185 fintech companies, including well-known brands as Cred, Razorpay, and PhonePe, had made requests to obtain the licence.

Presentations with payment gateways and other fintech companies that had submitted applications for the licence have been held by the central bank over the previous few months.

Fintech firm 1Pay Mobileware said on Friday that the RBI has also given its approval.

According to a person with knowledge of the situation, "Companies like Pine Labs and Razorpay are among the leading names that have obtained the licence, but the broader list is expected to feature more names."

Only businesses that have been authorised by the RBI can purchase and provide payment services to merchants, according to the payment aggregator framework, which was initially implemented in March 2020.
The RBI will personally oversee the businesses that have been granted permission to function as payment aggregators. Insiders in the sector predicted that this would result in a more standardised and controlled payments infrastructure.