Zomato and Stripe Secure Final Approval to Operate as Online Payment Aggregators

Food-delivery giant Zomato and international financial infrastructure provider Stripe have received the green light from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to operate as online payment aggregators. Zomato’s subsidiary, Zomato Payments Pvt Ltd, obtained clearance on January 24, while Stripe got the nod on January 15.

This regulatory approval marks a significant development, bringing the total number of entities permitted to operate as online aggregators in India to 11. Notably, in December of the previous year, Razorpay and Cashfree received final approval after a year-long embargo, enabling them to onboard new merchants.

Other notable approvals in the same period included Google Pay, Enkash, and Open Financial. Zomato clarified in a filing with the BSE that it aims to use its payment processing infrastructure across various apps within its ecosystem, focusing on enhancing offerings for consumers and merchants in areas such as food delivery, dining out, Blinkit, Hyperpure, and more.

While Zomato has incorporated a non-banking financial company (NBFC) and applied for a lending license in 2022, the company emphasizes that it is not venturing into standalone fintech services. Instead, it aims to enrich its ecosystem through diversified financial services.

The RBI’s meticulous selection process for approving payment aggregators involves multi-level checks to ensure the credibility and suitability of the chosen entities. Notably, Paytm and PayU faced restrictions on onboarding new merchants, prompting the RBI to request them to resubmit their applications.