Cashfree Payments Secures Regulatory Approval to Operate as Prepaid Payment Instrument Provider

Cashfree Payments Secures Regulatory Approval to Operate as Prepaid Payment Instrument Provider

Fintech company Cashfree Payments announced on Tuesday that it has received regulatory approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to operate as a prepaid payment instrument (PPI) provider. This new capability allows the Bengaluru-based firm to issue various prepaid payment instruments including cards and digital wallets.

With this approval Cashfree Payments joins an expanding market of PPI providers in India now totaling 46. The company previously obtained Payment Aggregator (PA) and Payment Aggregator-Cross Border (PA-CB) licenses from the RBI solidifying its position in the payments ecosystem.

Akash Sinha the CEO and co-founder of Cashfree Payments expressed excitement about the PPI license stating that it unlocks new opportunities for innovation within the payments landscape. He emphasized that this development will enable the company to create offerings that help internet businesses retain and expand their user base.

In December of the previous year Cashfree Payments was authorized to operate as a payment aggregator which allowed it to onboard new merchants after nearly a year-long regulatory ban. In July of this year the company secured approval to function as a PA-CB which was significant as it became one of the first non-banking entities to receive this license following a circular from the banking regulator regarding such entities.

Cashfree Payments boasts an impressive client base serving over 600000 businesses and processing transactions exceeding $80 billion annually. The company has garnered support from prominent investors including Silicon Valley's Y Combinator Apis Partners and the State Bank of India (SBI) and was initially incubated by PayPal.

In related news Piramal Payment Services a subsidiary of Piramal Capital & Housing Finance recently received approval from the RBI to launch its prepaid payment instrument service known as ‘Piramal Pay’.

According to the RBI prepaid payment instruments are valuable tools that facilitate the purchase of goods and services as well as the conduct of financial services and enable remittance facilities against the value of money stored within the instruments.