Nium Gets RBI Nod For Prepaid Payment Instrument & Payment Aggregator Licences

Global fintech company Nium has received an in-principle nod from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for the prepaid payment instrument (PPI) and payment aggregator (PA) licence.

These will allow the company to offer and improve upon its variety of financial products in India including prepaid cards and merchant payment acquiring, among others. 

Anupam Pahuja, Nium’s executive vice president and general manager, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa said, “These licences make Nium a one-stop-shop for all payment needs in India. For the end customer, Nium is making it seamless for Indians to shop the world.”

The PPI licence will enable the fintech provider to issue prepaid cards to its Indian customers. To be sure, the cards can be designed for a variety of consumer and business applications, from employee spending to domestic wallets. 

The company said in a statement that its approach involves collaboration with strategic card partners, ensuring a seamless end-to-end experience for users. 

On the PA licence, Nium said it will allow the company to provide merchant onboarding and acquiring services in the Indian market which are provisioning an online space for merchants, streamlining fund flow processes, and integrating cutting-edge technology. 

Further, it will enable the company to connect to real-time payment offerings, such as the UPI.

Founded in 2014 by  Prajit Nanu and Michael Bermingham, Nium’s platform supports payments in over 100 currencies and spans 190 countries. Through the platform, funds can be disbursed across accounts, wallets and cards. 

Co-headquartered in San Francisco and Singapore, Nium has regional offices in London, Amsterdam, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Chennai.

Overall it claims to be operational across 34 countries, holding regulatory licences and authorisations in more than 40 countries enabling onboarding, rapid integration and compliance irrespective of the geography. 

Nium aims to establish itself as an end-to-end acquiring solution provider.

Including the two licences, the company now holds 13 licences in total. According to Nium, as it expands its footprint in India, it will leverage the latest licenses to offer a wide array of services, fostering financial inclusion and empowering businesses with advanced payment solutions. 

The development comes at a time when the RBI is taking measures such as creation of repositories to track the fintech activities to ensure secured transactions.