PayPal Gets RBI’s In-Principle Nod To Operate As PA

SUMMARY

PayPal Payments has reportedly received the Reserve Bank of India’s approval to operate as a PA-CB-E

The in-principle PA-CB-E approval by RBI reflects the strength of India’s regulatory vision and the progress toward secure cross-border transactions

PayPal will be able to process cross-border online transactions for the merchants to engage in export of goods and services under a regulated framework

NASDAQ-listed PayPal Holdings Inc’s Indian subsidiary PayPal Payments Private Limited has received the Reserve Bank of India’s approval to operate as a payment aggregator for cross-border exports (PA-CB-E).

“The in-principle PA-CB-E approval by RBI is a significant milestone for PayPal. It reflects the strength of India’s regulatory vision and the progress toward seamless, secure cross-border transactions,” PayPal India’s director of corporate affairs Nath Parameshwaran said.

For the uninitiated, payment aggregator licences are categorised into three types based on their operations, which is – export only PA-CB (PA-CB-E), import only PA-CB (PA-CB-I) and export and import PA-CB (PA-CB-E&I).

PayPal, having obtained the nod for PA-CB-E licence, will seamlessly process cross-border online transactions for the merchants to engage in export of goods and services under a regulated framework.

The central bank’s in-principle approval allows PayPal to continue offering cross-border payment services within a regulated framework, supporting Indian merchants with enhanced consistency, transparency and security in their global transactions.

The company also seeks to open new avenues for product innovations that suit the domestic demand, improve customer satisfaction and better access to its global payment network for large enterprises, small businesses and freelancers in India.

The development comes close on the heels of the central bank giving approvals to a wave of fintech players, allowing them to operate as payment aggregators, after it issued rules to directly regulate entities facilitating such transactions in November 2023.

Bengaluru-based fintech startup Cashfree Payments became the first entity to secure the payment aggregator cross border (PA-CB) licence, in July last year. Following that, BillDesk, Amazon Pay India, Adyen and also received the RBI approval to operate as cross-border payment aggregators in 2024.

In January, Skydo secured the PA-CB licence from the RBI, followed by BriskPe also received an in-principle authorisation from the central bank in March, to operate as a cross border payment aggregator.