Corporate Development     

Published: March 15, 2024
Updated: March 15, 2024

Infibeam Avenues

Payment aggregator nod from RBI

Gandhinagar (Gujarat)-based Infibeam Avenues (IAL), an AI-powered listed fintech company, has received final authorisation from the RBI to operate as a payment aggregator under the Payment Settlements Act, 2007 for its payment gateway brand ‘CCAvenue’. In October 2022, the company received ‘in principle’ approval from the RBI to operate as a payment aggregator (PA). Now, the RBI has granted it the final PA licence. The country’s bank regulator had introduced the payment aggregator framework in March 2020, which obligates payment gateways to secure an aggregator licence for acquiring merchants and delivering cutting-edge digital payment acceptance solutions.

MAJOR PLAYER

Since more than a decade, CCAvenue as a prominent payment gateway player has been at the forefront of simplifying digital transactions for business across sectors through innovation and tech adaptation. The company has also recently received RBI approval to act as an Operating Unit under the Bharat Bill Pay licence. Infibeam earlier launched the CCAvenue mobile app, which is among the world’s most advanced omni-channel payment apps. The app features India’s first pin-on-glass SoftPoS solution – CCAvenue TapPay for merchants and kiranas across the country. Since it is an app, the merchant can download it for free on any Android phone, and convert any Android phone into a payment acceptance terminal without the need for a Point of Sale machine. Currently, 10 million-plus merchants are on Infibeam’s platform. This year, the company has already crossed half a million merchants onboarding in 1H FY24. The company attributes this growth to the growing relationship with bank partners and merchants.

MULTIPLE MODES

Merchants can accept payments in multiple ways like QR code, link-based payments, Tap-to- Pay, and more. This innovation will help reach out to more offline merchants in India’s hinterland, complementing the overall vision of the RBI to help small businesses. The company also provides marketplace software technology to large enterprises and institutions, including Jiomart. Vishal Mehta, CMD, said, “We are thrilled and thankful to receive the final approval from the RBI. This PA licence, along with the BBPOU licence, is a testament to our commitment to innovation and excellence. We have successfully captured a significant marketshare in the payment gateway and bill payments space, are poised for even greater expansion in the coming months and will gear up for an accelerated marketshare growth.”