Razorpay, Cashfree to work as payment aggregators

Online payment processing companies RazorPay and Cashfree have received permission from the Reserve Bank of India to operate as payment aggregators after a yearlong embargo on admitting new merchants. Paytm and PayU are still awaiting their licenses.

Online payment processing firms RazorPay and Cashfree have received permission from the Reserve Bank of India to operate as payment aggregators, ending a yearlong embargo on admitting new merchants on their platforms.

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“Razorpay has now received the final authorisation from the Reserve Bank of India to operate as a payment aggregator under the Payment Settlements Act, 2007. Having received the new license, we now restart onboarding new customers,” a RazorPay spokesperson said. Cashfree echoed the same sentiment on its LinkedIn page.

In September 2022, the Enforcement Directorate had raided offices of RazorPay, Paytm, Cashfree and PayU in connection with a first information report filed in Bengaluru related to Chinese fake loan apps. The central bank on December 13, 2022, restricted these companies from registering new merchants and asked them to reapply for fresh payment aggregator licences.

Paytm has not yet received its payment aggregator licence. HT has reached out to PayUfor information on its application.

“Securing the Payment Aggregator (PA) license from the RBI is a pivotal moment for Cashfree Payments, affirming our focus on compliance and highlighting the significance of a well-regulated payments landscape. We are now onboarding new merchants on our payment gateway,” a spokesperson for Cashfree Payments said.

A spokesperson for PayU said that the company is still awaiting a response from RBI on its application.

OPEN, a fintech geared towards SMEs, also got its payment aggregator licence for the first time from the RBI on Tuesday.