Zomato Payments surrenders payment aggregator licence obtained earlier this year from RBI

Zomato Payments Private Limited (ZPPL), a subsidiary of food delivery giant Zomato, has voluntarily relinquished the online payment aggregator (PA) licence it obtained from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on January 25, 2024. 

The decision also included the withdrawal of their application for a licence to operate as an issuer of prepaid payment instruments, which had previously received in-principle authorization from the RBI.

Financial impact of this decision on Zomato

The withdrawal of these licences has led to a significant financial repercussion for Zomato, specifically a reported impairment loss of Rs 39 crore.

This amount was recognized in the company's profit and loss account as an exceptional item, following an impairment assessment under Ind AS 36 guidelines.

How has this affected Zomato's business strategy?

While ZPPL has exited these particular regulatory frameworks, the company assures that its other operations will persist. Established in August 2021, ZPPL was initially formed to provide digital payment services, including wallets and payment gateways.

Zomato continues to offer payments through the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) in collaboration with ICICI Bank, which includes merchant and peer-to-peer payments.

What was the original intent behind Zomato's payment licences?

The licences were intended to allow Zomato to process online payments independently and offer services like wallets and cash cards to its customers.

This strategic move aimed to reduce costs associated with third-party payment services and merchant charges and enhance in-house control over digital payments.

Despite these changes, Zomato remains robust in its broader business operations. The company recently reported a profit after tax of Rs 175 crore with a revenue of Rs 3,562 crore for Q4 FY24. Overall, Zomato registered a 71% surge in its annual revenue to Rs 12,114 crore in FY24 from Rs 7,079 in FY23.