Zomato gets RBI approval for payment aggregator license. Everything you need to know.

• Zomato Payment Pvt Ltd (ZPPL) has been authorized by the RBI to function as an online payment aggregator.
• It is a subsidiary of Zomato, the Indian multinational restaurant aggregator and food delivery company.
• Zomato has now joined the ranks of Tata Pay, Razorpay, and Google Pay.

What is Zomato Payment?

In August 2021, Zomato incorporated Zomato Payments to carry out business as a payment aggregator and issuer of prepaid instruments.

RBI’s approval

Zomato’s fully-owned subsidiary Zomato Payments, has obtained approval from the RBI to function as a payment aggregator in India.

The company announced the news on 24th January 2024.

Zomato Payments will also offer various payment solutions, such as e-wallets, mobile wallets, cash cards, and direct debit facilities on mobile phones.

What’s a Payment aggregator?

A payment aggregator is a third-party service that simplifies the process of accepting online payments for businesses.

They act as an intermediary between merchants and payment processors, handling the complexities of collecting and settling payments.

Some of the popular names include PayPal, Tata Pay, Razorpay, PhonePe and Google Pay. You can find the entire list here.

And now with this approval, Zomato has joined the ranks.

Who can be a payment aggregator?

Only companies approved by the RBI can acquire and provide payment services to merchants under the payment aggregator framework.

The mandate was formally introduced in March 2020.

To obtain a payment aggregator license, companies must meet specific guidelines set by the RBI, including,

• Minimum net worth
• Merchant onboarding
• Settlement timelines
• Escrow account maintenance
• IT security.

(Information from Worldline)

How will this benefit Zomato?

The approval will allow Zomato to facilitate e-commerce transactions on its platform and have more control over digital payments on its platform.

It can help reduce costs associated with third-party payment services and save on merchant charges.

Last year, Zomato partnered with ICICI Bank to launch its own Unified Payments Interface (UPI) service.

Also read: RBI bans Paytm Payments Bank: Action taken after multiple warnings about questionable transactions.

About Zomato

Zomato is an Indian multinational restaurant aggregator and food delivery company. It was founded by Deepinder Goyal and Pankaj Chaddah in 2008.

Zomato went public on July 23, 2021.

It became available for trading on both the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and the National Stock Exchange (NSE) of India.

As of February 2024, Zomato has a market cap of $14.84 Billion or INR 119,503.37 crores.

Leadership team

Deepinder Goyal – Founder, MD & CEO

Akriti Chopra

Akshant Goyal – Chief Financial Officer

Daminee Sawhney – Vice President, Human Resources and Operations

Kaushik Dutta – Chairman & Independent Director

Sanjeev Bikhchandani – Non-Executive Director

Also read: Zomato raised $1.26 Bn in IPO and now Co-founders are calling it quits.

Closing…

Zomato’s approval as a payment aggregator brings positive news to the Indian fintech world, which is thriving, by the way.

India houses 17 fintech unicorns and ranks third worldwide in terms of the largest number of fintech entities.

India’s fintech industry is projected to generate approximately $70 billion in annual revenue by FY30, according to a report by McKinsey and Elevation Capital.

Research and Markets have valued the Indian fintech market at INR 3.70 trillion in FY 2023. It is expected to reach INR 11.36 trillion by FY 2028, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 24.95% during the period of FY 2024 – FY 2028.

Now, we have to see how Zomato Payment competes with other players in the Fintech market.