Zomato receives RBI approval to operate as online payment aggregator

Food delivery major Zomato has received authorisation from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to operate as an online payment aggregator, the company revealed in a regulatory filing on Thursday. This will allow the company to facilitate online transactions through its platform.

“Pursuant to our earlier disclosure dated 4 August 2021 regarding the incorporation of Zomato Payments Private Limited (ZPPL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Zomato Limited to carry out the business, inter alia, as a payment aggregator and issuer of prepaid payment instruments, we wish to inform that ZPPL has been granted a certificate of authorisation dated 24 January 2024, from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to operate as an ‘Online Payment Aggregator’ in India with effect from 24 January 2024, as per the guidelines issued by the RBI,” the company said.

The Gurugram-based food delivery major had, last year, announced a partnership with ICICI Bank to launch its own payments business, Zomato Pay.

Since then, the company has been looking to acquire a payments licence in a bid to save on merchant charges made through third-party apps like Google Pay, Paytm, and PhonePe.

Zomato has joined the likes of companies like Razorpay, Cashfree Payments, and EnKash, among others, who have also been granted payment aggregator licences.

The company has, of late, been looking at ways to improve its margins. Last year, the firm introduced a Rs 1 platform fee, which it later hiked to Rs 3. Amid increased demand for food and grocery delivery during the new year, Zomato increased its platform fee to as much as Rs 9 in select geographies.

The company recently posted its second consecutive quarter of consolidated profits at Rs 36 crore in the second quarter (Q2) of financial year 2023-24 (FY24), up from Rs 2 crore a quarter ago.

Zomato’s revenue from operations rose 71 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to Rs 2,848 crore in Q2, up from Rs 1,661 a year ago. It had reported a revenue of Rs 2,416 in the previous quarter.

Total expenses for the Gurugram-based food delivery firm increased to Rs 3,039 crore in the quarter ended September, up from Rs 2,612 a quarter ago and Rs 2,092 a year ago.