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Payment Aggregators: RBI Tightens Oversight of New Licensees

12 June 20251 min read
BANKING & FINANCEPaymentAggregators: RBITightens Oversightof New Licensees12 June 2025safalsetu.com

Why in the news

After licensing over 50 payment aggregators (PAs), RBI is tightening supervision to prevent misuse of digital payments.

Key facts

  • Focus: merchant KYC, genuineness of online businesses and payouts like refunds and cashbacks.
  • Payouts: RBI is weighing routing only via settlement accounts, for traceability.
EarlierNow
Procedural audits conducted by banksDirect, tougher RBI audits across departments

Governance

  • PhonePe named Zarin Daruwala independent director; PayU named Renu Sud Karnad chairperson.

Exam angle

  • Regulated entity: payment aggregators.

Test yourself

1. RBI's draft circular for payment aggregators proposes what for every merchant before onboarding?

A draft circular mandates full KYC for every merchant.

2. In the RBI payment aggregator scrutiny news, who was named independent director at PhonePe?

PhonePe appointed Zarin Daruwala, ex-Standard Chartered India CEO.

3. How has RBI's audit approach for newly licensed payment aggregators changed, per the news?

Earlier audits were bank-conducted; RBI now audits directly.