Tiger Global-Backed Jupiter Gets RBI Nod For Prepaid Payments Instrument Licence

Bengaluru-based neobanking startup Jupiter has secured prepaid payments instrument licence from the Reserve Bank of India to provide digital wallets for UPI payments, fund transfers and bill payments.

In the coming months, the company plans to introduce a prepaid account facility, its founder Jitendra Gupta said in a statement.

“PPI functionality today is almost equal to a bank account and has all the required facilities for a user to operate the account for most types of payments i.e UPI payments and gift cards. Through PPI , we intend to increase our user base significantly wherein users want to use accounts only for UPI & similar transaction purposes and operate a safe and risk free account,” Gupta added.

Jupiter aims to develop new use cases for its app, which currently provides digital savings accounts, UPI payments, and financial management services.

With this app, customers will be able to operate a risk free account and use it exclusively for UPI and similar transactions, according to Gupta.

Last year, Jupiter secured a non-banking finance company (NBFC) licence from the RBI, which would allow the neobank to issue credit lines to customers.

Founded in 2019 by serial entrepreneur Jitendra Gupta, Jupiter offers a range of financial services, including debit cards, SIPs, mutual funds, personalised savings options, expense management, and UPI payments.

Jupiter is backed by the likes of Tiger Global, Peak XV, and Matrix Partners, among others. In FY23, the startup raised INR 100 Cr ($12.12 Mn) in a venture debt funding round from Alteria Capital for building and scaling up its lending products.

Its consolidated net loss more than doubled to INR 327 Cr in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23) from INR 156.3 Cr in the previous fiscal, due to a sharp jump in its employee benefit expenses.

The startup’s bottom line took a hit despite an over 1,500% jump in operating revenue to INR 7.1 Cr in the reported period from INR 42 Lakh in FY22.

Jupiter managed to improve its income despite the fintech major, along with several other players in the space, facing regulatory challenges during the period. Jupiter had to stop its prepaid credit line offering after the RBI issued guidelines saying non-banks can’t load their prepaid payment instruments (PPI) with credit lines.

Meanwhile, earlier this year. global fintech company Nium received an in-principle nod from the RBI for the prepaid payment instrument (PPI) and payment aggregator (PA) licence.