Mumbai: Indian payments firm airpay Payment Services Pvt. Ltd. has secured full authorisation from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), enabling it to operate as a full-stack payment aggregator across online, physical/POS/QR, and cross-border services.
With licenses under PA-O, PA-P and PA-CB categories, airpay joins a select group of regulated providers approved to handle domestic and international payments across every major merchant channel.
Full-suite approval to strengthen airpay’s India footprint
With this, airpay is now positioned as a homegrown payments infrastructure provider for Indian enterprises, D2C brands, and SMEs seeking a single compliant platform for collections, payouts, and settlements. The integrated framework allows businesses to operate in deep-tier Indian or global markets without managing multiple payment systems.
The company expects the launch to boost processing volumes by 30–40 percent over the next six to twelve months. It also anticipates that cross-border transactions will contribute over 20 percent of its revenues during that period. Concurrently, airpay aims to onboard more than 50,000 merchants.
Enabling global trade for Indian businesses
According to founder Kunal Jhunjhunwala, Indian businesses increasingly operate globally — from exporters, SaaS firms, and digital merchants to local retailers. airpay’s new regulatory approval, he said, will support this shift by offering reliability, compliance, and speed in payments. The company believes it can now provide Indian merchants with a regulated yet seamless bridge to handle payments from anywhere in India to anywhere in the world.
Under the PA-CB framework, cross-border payment facilitation now falls under direct RBI supervision, which mandates strict governance standards, escrow management, and compliance with foreign-exchange regulations. For businesses, this means lower compliance burdens, reduced settlement risks, and better transparency in international trade.
Significance for India’s payment-aggregation future
The approval comes as Indian commerce pivots towards global trade. Export-led MSMEs, direct-to-consumer brands targeting Europe, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia, and subscription-based services expanding internationally are pushing cross-border e-commerce volumes higher.
As businesses scale across online, offline, and international markets, demand is rising for payment partners that can offer full-stack infrastructure under a strong regulatory framework. With all three licences secured, airpay is expected to support the Indian commerce and strengthen the country’s regulated digital-payments backbone.
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