The payment aggregation industry in India is anticipated to face a significant transformation as global internet giants Google and Amazon extend their capabilities in the country. It is anticipated that strong competition would rage as these internet giants compete for a piece of the lucrative Indian payments business, which has hitherto been dominated by local companies.
The entry of these global rivals is likely to generate a commotion in the Indian payment aggregation market, which was previously dominated by regional rivals like Paytm, PhonePe, and Mobikwik. Due to the strong brand recognition and devoted clientele that domestic enterprises have built, it is difficult for newcomers to establish a position in the market.
According to the sources, the Reserve Bank of India published a list of 32 companies on Wednesday that are authorised to act as online payment aggregators, including Reliance Payment Solutions Ltd., Amazon.com Inc.’s Amazon Pay, and Google Pay from Alphabet Inc.
According to the central bank’s website, the identities were made public in order to “disseminate information and ensure more transparency.” Among the other authorised entities are Zomato Payments Pvt. Ltd., Pine Laboratories Pvt. Ltd., and Infibeam Avenues Ltd.
Although 18 additional applications are being examined, according to the FCC, they can still serve as payment aggregators. Separately, four applications—including those of Paytm Payments Services Ltd. and Freecharge Payment Technologies Pvt Ltd., both of which are owned by Axis Bank—have been rejected. The RBI states that they are allowed to go on with their business without adding any new merchants and to reapply within 120 days of the date of their return.
Despite allowing tech behemoths to sign up digital merchants and manage customer payments on their behalf, the central bank sees big tech in the full-fledged banking industry as a threat to the stability of the economy and local banks.
