Non-fintech online PAs: Firms may reconsider payment aggregator biz

This comes as Zomato Payments, the wholly owned subsidiary of food delivery platform Zomato, voluntarily surrendered the certificate of authorisation issued by the RBI

Online payment aggregators (PAs), especially those for whom PA service is not a core business, may reconsider being in the trade owing to challenges of scale, profitability, and a high cost of compliance. 

This comes as Zomato Payments, the wholly-owned subsidiary of food-delivery platform Zomato, last week voluntarily surrendered the certificate of authorisation issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to operate as an online payment aggregator. 

Company executives and those advising players in fintech say while it is difficult to pinpoint what prompted the company to take the decision, it is perhaps a combination of factors like a