Regulation of the Payment Aggregators
Regulation of the Payment Aggregators – Timeline for submission of applications for authorisation – Review
Reference is invited to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) circulars DPSS.CO.PD.No.1810/02.14.008/2019-20 dated March 17, 2020 and CO.DPSS.POLC.No.S33/02-14-008/2020-2021 dated March 31, 2021 on “Guidelines on Regulation of Payment Aggregators and Payment Gateways”. In terms of these circulars, online non-bank Payment Aggregators (PAs) – existing as on March 17, 2020 – were required to apply to RBI by September 30, 2021i for seeking authorisation under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007 (PSS Act).
2. It is observed that applications received from some PAs had to be returned as they had not complied with eligibility criteria, including the minimum net worth criterion of ₹15 crore by March 31, 2021. This also implied that they have to discontinue their operations within a period of six months from the date of return of application. Though they have the option to apply afresh on meeting the prescribed criteria, ceasing operations may lead to disruption in payment systems. It is also possible that some PAs had not applied to RBI due to non-fulfilment of eligibility criteria.
3. Keeping in view the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and to ensure smooth functioning of the payments ecosystem, it has since been decided to allow another window to all such PAs (existing as on March 17, 2020) to apply to RBI. They can apply by September 30, 2022 and shall have a net worth of ₹15 crore as on March 31, 2022. They shall be permitted to continue their operations till they receive communication from RBI regarding the fate of their application. The timeline of March 31, 2023 for achieving the net worth of ₹25 crore shall, however, remain.
4. All other provisions of the circulars referred to above, shall continue to be applicable.
5. This directive is issued under Section 10 (2) read with Section 18 of the PSS Act, 2007 (Act 51 of 2007).
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