RBI – Guidelines On Payment Aggregators

Introduction

India has experienced a phenomenal growth in digital payment transactions in the last few years. Online or digital payments between customers and providers of goods and services (merchants) are facilitated through intermediaries such as 'Payment Aggregators' (PAs) and 'Payment Gateways' (PGs). These entities provide the technological infrastructure to route and/ or facilitate processing of digital transactions between the customers and the merchants without actually handling the funds¹.

With an aim of regulating electronic payments involving intermediaries, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued the "Directions for opening and operation of Accounts and settlement of payments for electronic payment transactions involving intermediaries" of 24 November 2009 (Erstwhile Circular) to set out the guidance in relation to setting up and operation of PAs and PGs. The Erstwhile Circular did not require PAs and PGs to obtain an authorisation from the RBI, and