Hitachi Payment, BharatPe get RBI nod to operate as payment aggregators

In-principle approval takes firms closer to offering to digital financial services to clients

Hitachi Payment Services and BharatPe have received in-principle authorisation from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to operate as payment aggregators, said the companies on Tuesday.
 
Hitachi, as a payment aggregator, will be able to provide its business-to-business (B2B) customers with digital payment products and value-added services such as EMI, PayLater, BBPS, and loyalty solutions.
 
BharatPe would be able to widen its reach and provide digital payment acceptance solutions.
 

Payment aggregators facilitate e-commerce sites and merchants to accept payment instruments from customers. They facilitate merchants to connect with acquirers.
 
Fintech firms such as Razorpay, PineLabs, Stripe, 1Pay, Innoviti Payments, MSwipe, Infibeam Avenues have received in-principle approvals from the central bank to operate as payment aggregators. More companies are expected to get the central bank’s nod for payment aggregator licences.

 
The RBI, in 2020, issued guidelines that said only firms it approved can acquire and offer payment services to the merchants. While banks do not need separate approvals, non-bank entities offering payment aggregator services had to apply for authorisation from the RBI by June 2021, which was later extended.
 
The central bank had, however, allowed them to continue their operations till they received communication from the regulator regarding the fate of their application. The RBI allowed another window for payment aggregators existing as of March 2020 to apply to the central bank for a license. Payment aggregators were asked to apply for licences by September 30, 2022.

 
The central bank has specified the criteria the entities have to fulfill to secure such a license and a number of firms have seen their applications being rejected while many have also got the nod from the RBI.