RBI to reject payment aggregator licence of fintechs like Mobikwik?

26 April 2022

The Reserve Bank of India may reject fintech businesses' applications for payment aggregator licences since some of them are linked to cryptocurrency exchanges and gaming apps. This would be a huge setback for fintech companies hoping to secure their payment aggregator licence.

According to the Economic Times, online payment businesses such as MobiKwik and Cashfree may attract RBI scrutiny as a result of some of these fintech firms' connections with cryptocurrency exchanges and gaming applications.

According to a source close to the situation, the RBI is plainly against payment aggregators collaborating with cryptocurrency firms or gaming applications that have previously been accused of serving as a conduit for money laundering.

"The RBI does not like payment providers fuelling the cryptocurrency business in any way, shape, or form, whether it's through trading or by giving their platform for other uses." The RBI is also keeping track of how these payment platforms adhere to KYC regulations, with even the tiniest risk resulting in rejections. This time, there is no room for discussion," the source stated.

Furthermore, the central bank has decided to revoke ZaakPay's payment aggregator licence, as well as MobiKwik's payment gateway service, due to its crypto partnerships and failure to fulfil the set net-worth threshold.