PayPal, Worldline get RBI nod for cross-border payments

PayPal Payments (PayPal), the Indian subsidiary of PayPal Holdings, has received in-principle approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to operate as a cross-border payment aggregator (PA).

Another fintech company, Worldline ePayments India, announced that the central bank has approved its licence to operate as a cross-border PA under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007.

This authorisation enables the companies to facilitate cross-border online transactions for the import and export of goods and services.

According to PayPal, this opens new avenues for localised product innovations and improved customer experiences for customers, along with enhanced access to PayPal’s global payment network for large enterprises, small businesses, and freelancers in India.

Earlier this year, cross-border payments company Skydo received in-principle authorization from the RBI to operate as a Payment Aggregator-Cross Border (PA-CB) entity. BRISKPE, a PayU-backed cross-border payments platform, also received RBI’s in-principle PA-CB authorisation for exports in March this year.

Skydo had received In-Principle Authorisation from RBI to operate as a Payment Aggregator - Cross Border (PA-CB) in January this year. Co-founder Movin Jain said "Since the RBI in-principle nod, we have been broadening our product suite and deepening our merchant base. Having the authorisation helps us in building deeper trust with merchants. The Cross-border Payments space is still very nascent, and it is great to see multiple companies receiving RBI approval. This will ultimately spur further growth in India's exports, and empower the burgeoning MSME Export sector"

Last October, the RBI had asked aggregators offering cross-border payments to secure separate approval. Before that for almost a decade, payment companies had been operating with an Online Payment Gateway Service Provider or OPGSP licence.