Payment Aggregators

Payment Aggregators

News: Recently, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has given in-principle approval to 32 firms to operate as Online Payment Aggregators (PA), under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007.

What is PA and what are its functions?
 They are companies that facilitate online payments by acting as intermediary between the customer and the merchant.
 They provide range of options to customers for payments. Example, Credit or Debit cards, e-wallets.
 They ensure security and reliability of payment transfers.
 The businesses can avoid the need to set up and manage their own payment processing systems, which can be complex and expensive. Eg – Paypal, Amazon Pay.

Significance of PA’s:
 They use advanced security measures to ensure that transactions are safe and secure.
 They use algorithms and machine learning to detect and prevent fraud.
 Payment aggregators can integrate with a range of other systems, such as accounting software and inventory management systems, to streamline the payment process and make it easier to manage business operations.
 Payment aggregators provide detailed reports on payment transactions, making it easier for businesses to manage their finances and reconcile their accounts.

What are RBI's Criteria for Approving an Entity as Payment Aggregator?
 Under the payment aggregator framework, only firms approved by the RBI can acquire and offer payment services to merchants.
 A company applying for aggregator authorisation must have a minimum net worth of Rs 15 crore in the first year of application, and at least Rs 25 crore by the second year.
 It must also be compliant with global payment security standards.