“Super excited and stoked to share our subsidiary – Agya Technologies – has received an in-principle licence for account aggregator. We have been waiting so long for this,” Nikhil Kumar, cofounder of Setu, wrote on Twitter.
AAs are non-banking financial companies that allow individuals to share and access data between financial institutions on a consolidated network. These entities must have received approval from the RBI to access and share such data.
The development comes after digital payments service provider Pine Labs
acquired Setu in a cash-and-stock deal worth $70-75 million last month. After the acquisition, Setu was to work independently, retain its brand entity, and continue to serve its existing merchants.
Pine Labs, through the acquisition, was planning to enter the embedded finance space, and use Setu’s API infrastructure stack to offer new services to its online merchant partners.
Founded in 2018 by Sahil Kini and Nikhil Kumar, Setu is headquartered in Bengaluru and aims to make formal financial products more accessible to everyone. It offers open APIs across four categories – bills, savings, credit, and payments.
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“The licence enables us to now go deeper and power AA for every single bank, NBFC, and fintech in India,” Kumar wrote.
The AA licence, and plans around the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) and Open Credit Enablement Network (OCEN) framework were Setu’s key offerings during the sale to Pine Labs, sources said.
Around eight entities, including Agya, have received RBI’s in-principle nod to operate as account aggregators, while six are fully operational.
These are CAMSFinServ, Cookiejar Technologies Private Limited (Finvu); FinSec AA Solutions Private Limited (OneMoney); NESL Asset Data Limited; Perfios Account Aggregation Services Pvt Ltd (Anumati); and Yodlee Finsoft Private Limited, according to data from from Sahamati, a member-driven industry alliance formed to promote and strengthen the account aggregator ecosystem in India.
On July 6, Finvu AA, a consent-based account aggregator,
raised $2.5 million in funding from M2P, Varanium Nexgen Fund, IIFL, DMI Sparkle Fund, and others.
