Zomato gets RBI nod to operate as online payment aggregator, issuer of prepaid wallets

financialexpress.com:

The Reserve Bank of India on Thursday gave nod to Zomato for its online payment aggregator operations. According to a communication to the stock exchange, Zomato Payments Pvt Ltd, a subsidiary of Zomato, has been given the approval to operate as an aggregator in the field of online payments.

Back in August 2021, Zomato had announced about its plan to foray in the field of online payments with wholly-owned subsidiary ZPPL to operate as issuer of pre-paid payment instruments.

“We wish to inform that ZPPL has been granted certificate of authorisation dated January 24, 2024, from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to operate as an ‘Online Payment Aggregator’ in India with effect from January 24, 2024, as per the guidelines issued by the RBI,” Zomato said in the filing.

Following RBI’s nod, Deepinder Goyal-led Zomato has now joined the ranks of Tata Pay, Razorpay, and Cashfree in securing the eagerly-awaited approval from country’s central bank. The Thursday’s development is set to broaden Zomato’s current scope beyond food delivery and restaurant discovery. The RBI approval will transform Zomato into a payment aggregator.

Industry experts say that the decision by Zomato to enter the online payment world is to save merchant charges attached with the services of sevral major payment apps such as Google Pay, Paytm and PhonePe.