PPI Licence Eligibility Requirements, Documents, and Steps

Raghvendra Sonker

13 Sep, 2022

The Reserve Bank of India regulates Prepaid Payment Instruments or PPI Licences under  Section 10(2) of the PSS Act, which empowers the RBI to issue guidelines regularly for efficient management of payment systems. The Master Directions on Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPIs) issued by the RBI also apply to banks and non-banks that wish to set up a PPI system in India.

PPI Licence Eligibility Requirements

The RBI’s Master Directions lays down the eligibility criteria and the conditions of use for Payment System Operators (PSOs) involved in issuing licences and PPIs in the country. The requirements for obtaining a PPI Licence/ Payment Wallet Licence are the following:

• Banks and Non-Banks complying with the eligibility criteria shall be permitted to issue the PPIs after obtaining approval from RBI. Banks seeking approval from the apex institute under the PSS Act, 2007^[1], shall apply to the Department of Payment and Settlement Systems, Central Office (CO), RBI, along with a ‘No Objection Certificate’ (NOC) from their regulatory department, within 30 days of obtaining NOC.
• The Minimum Capital Requirement:
  1. Net owned worth of the applicant’s company;
  2. Paid-up equity capital (borrowed money from the shareholders in exchange for stocks) as ;
  3. Preference shares capital;
  4. Free Reserves as per the Companies Act, 2013;
  5. Details of Share premium account –money raised through IPO;
  6. Surplus Capital reserves;
  7. Deferred Revenues and Expenses.
• All non-bank entities at the time of seeking authorisation from RBI under the PSS Act, 2007, shall be registered under the Companies Act, 2013 and shall have a min. positive net worth of Rs. 5 crores as per the latest audited balance sheet during submission of the application. Thereafter, by the end of the third financial year from the receiving date of final authorisation, the entity shall achieve a minimum positive net worth of Rs. 15 crores which shall be maintained at all times.
• Proper details of the IT Infrastructure setup for the operability of Prepaid Payment Instruments shall be furnished by the applicant;
• Detailed Business Plan and Project Strategy Reports shall be submitted before the RBI. The submitted plan should be viable and realistic, and it should also cover the aspects relating to the multiple access points in rural and semi-urban areas, grievance redressed mechanism and joint ventures with Scheduled Commercial Bank. The applicants should furnish the detailed business plan in the prescribed form (Form III).
• All newly incorporated non-bank entities that may not have audited financial statements must obtain a Net worth Certificate from CA.
• Fit and Proper criteria must be met for PPI Licence Eligibility Requirements.
• The object clause of the  MoA and AoA shall reflect the purpose of undertaking the business functions of prepaid payment instruments.
• For obtaining the Prepaid Wallet Licence by NBFCs, Scheduled Commercial Banks are not mandated to fulfil the min. capital requirement. However, they must obtain prior approval from RBI and have authorization to issue prepaid payment instruments;
• An authorised non-bank PPI issuer is required to submit a net-worth certificate every year in the enclosed format in compliance with the net-worth requirement as per the audited balance sheet within 6 months of completion of that financial year;
• All entities are mandated to achieve a minimum net worth of Rs. 15 crores for the financial position as on Mar 31, 2024.

Documents for PPI Licence

The following documents are required for getting PPI Licence:

• Details and Address Proof of the Registered Office
• Certificate of Incorporation obtained from RoC
• No Objection Certificate(NOC) from RBI
• A Complete Report on the principal business of the corporation
• Managerial Details of the Corporation
• Appointment of Statutory Auditor as per the guidelines
• Detailed Business Plan and strategy
• The Audited Balance sheet of the current financial year
• Name and Address details of Bankers of the corporation
• RBI may ask for any other information for issuance of PPIs Licence

Steps for PPI Licence

The following steps are listed below for getting a PPIs Licence/ Prepaid Wallet Licence:

Step-1: Make an Application in Form A for approval as the prescribed format under Regulation 3(2) of the PSSRegulations, 2008, with the requisite government fee, and all relevant documents have to be furnished before the Reserve Bank of India for obtaining the PPI Licence.

Step-2: The RBI proceeds with the Screening process to ensure an applicant’s PPI Licence eligibility requirements.

Step-3: RBI checks on certain essentials like customer service efficiency, safety and security standards, and technical aspects for ascertaining the requirements for the application.

Step-4: After satisfying all the eligibility criteria and ‘fit & proper’ status, RBI issues an ‘in-principle approval’, which stands valid for 6 months from the date of approval.

Step-5: The Company must submit an Audit Report from the Chartered Accountant to the Reserve Bank of India within 6 months. The Company must submit the System Audit Report (SAR); otherwise, automatic in-principal approval will lapse. The Company may get an extension (only one extension) of six months by making an advance appeal stating all the valid reasons.

Step-6: After verifying all the credentials of the particulars furnished by entities, the Company will be granted final approval. The PPIs Licence Holder must commence business within six months of receiving the Certificate of Authorization for the PPI Licence.

Conclusion

RBI’s new directions focus more on building a resilient PPI framework for mitigating frauds and misuse of PPIs. The guidelines and rules must be followed diligently to obtain the PPI licence.

Read our Article: How to obtain a Prepaid Wallet License in India?