This means Cashfree joins Razorpay, Stripe, Pine Labs, MSwipe and Innoviti in receiving the RBI nod for a payment aggregator license.
At least 185 fintech firms — including big names like Cred, Razorpay and PhonePe — had submitted proposals seeking the license, ET has reported previously.
Cashfree did not immediately respond to ET’s queries.
The payment aggregator framework, introduced formally in March 2020, mandates that only firms approved by the RBI can acquire and offer payment services to merchants.
Over the past several months, RBI has been holding presentations with payment gateway providers and other fintech firms that have applied for the license. However, it has been strict in its evaluation process, sources told ET.
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Some online gateways and payment fintech firms that have sought the license have come under intense scrutiny of late for issues related to know-your-customer (KYC) guidelines and past dealings with cryptocurrency exchanges as well as with gaming apps.
ET reported
on July 28 that RBI had opened another window for payment aggregators to seek regulatory approval as the discontinuation of those without a license could lead to disruptions in the fintech payments system.
Recently, RBI rejected MobiKwik’s application to operate Zaakpay, its payment gateway service, as a payment aggregator. MobiKwik cofounder Upasana Taku told ET that
MobiKwik would reapply for the license.
