Fino Payments Bank gets approval for transition into a small finance bank

The Reserve Bank has granted ‘in-principle’ approval to Fino Payments Bank Limited (FPBL) for conversion into a small finance bank (SFB).

RBI has issued the guidelines for ‘on tap’ licensing of SFBs in the private sector. As per the guidelines, existing payments banks which are controlled by residents and have completed five years of operations are eligible for conversion into SFBs. The application of FPBL was assessed as per the procedure laid down in the guidelines.

Fino Payments Bank is a subsidiary of Fino Paytech Limited, which is backed by marquee investors like Bharat Petroleum, ICICI group, Blackstone, IFC, Intel and LIC among others. The payments bank had applied for an SFB licence towards the end of 2023. The transition into SFB will allow Fino Payments Bank to accept larger deposits, provide loans and credit facilities to individuals and small businesses, and expand its customer base and services, which are currently restricted for payments banks.