Worldline ePayments India gets RBI’s nod to act as payment aggregator

Digital payments services platform Worldline ePayments India said it has received in-principle approval from the Reserve Bank of India to act as a payment aggregator (PA).

The authorisation by the RBI was under the provisions of the Guidelines on Regulation of Payment dated March 17, 2020.

"We've been in the Indian market for more than two decades and have built a leadership position. We work with merchants from various segments such as eCommerce, BFSI, Retail, Utilities, Education, Travel and Hospitality for digital payments," Ramesh Narasimhan, Chief Executive Officer, of Worldline India, said in the statement.

"The in-principle authorisation from RBI is a testimony to our commitment towards building a digital payment ecosystem in India," the CEO said.

Worldline ePayments India, part of Worldline group, offers solutions for all sorts of payment needs offering in-store, online, and omnichannel payments to its customers.

The CEO added RBI has been proactive in introducing regulations and frameworks to help the entire digital ecosystem and to increase the adoption of digital payments further. 

Separately, Reserve Bank Deputy Governor T Rabi Sankar yesterday pitched for same regulation for both banks and non-bank entities like fintechs if they are undertaking the same activity.

If fintechs are allowed to carry out similar services without the tighter regulations governing banks like capital adequacy, know your customer (KYC) requirements, leverage and liquidity norms, there is a risk of creating inefficiencies and risks associated with regulatory arbitrage, Sankar said at an event.

He cited the recent example of prepaid instruments being used to extend credit lines sans a proper licence, and also hinted at Big Tech's attempts at garnering deposits as cases of "regulatory arbitrage" which the RBI is concerned about and will act against.

"If we want to avoid the inefficiencies caused by differential regulations for similar activities across different entities, a non-bank undertaking banking functions needs to be licensed and regulated like a bank. Without the licence, it should not be allowed to undertake banking activities," he added.

He argued that this will not kill innovation and suggested that banks can tie-up or outrightly purchase such technologies to ensure that customers get the best services which are available in the market.

No regulator has the luxury of letting innovation disrupt the financial system in the hope that the market might reach its own equilibrium eventually, he made it clear.