Justifying the Payment Gateway License cost in India

One of the biggest issues that people have when applying for the payment gateway license in India is the cost. It’s too much for many of them. The Reserve Bank of India, to ensure that the only the serious entrepreneurs get involved in the payment gateway business, has established many mind-boggling criteria.

In order to obtain the payment gateway license, you should perfectly fit into that criteria. If you don’t, then it doesn’t matter of technologically- savvy you are running a payment gateway, you’re not going to get the payment gateway license in India.

Is the payment gateway license cost that comprises of money, time and eligibility fair? Is there any justification for it. Yes, it is. Just like we said, RBI only wants the serious players to get involved in this electronic transaction business. Through this article, you’ll know the reason why is it so.

The Eligibility cost of obtaining Payment Gateway registration

Payment gateway is comprised of multiple components, and not just the technical ones. There is a hidden legal and a hidden financial component associated with it. Combination of both of them is the payment gateway license. And the eligibility cost to obtain it is as follows:

  1. You can only apply for payment gateway certification as a company: No one individual has the time, the resources or the organizational acumen to singlehandedly manage a payment gateway. That’s why for the RBI, payment gateway license should only be issued to those who have incorporated their business as a company.
  2. The payment gateway has to be certified by PCI DSS: The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards is compromised of all the major credit and debit card organizations. Their job is to ascertain whether the payment gateway performs well while also ensuring the security of the critical data that it uses for transaction.
  3. The net worth of the applicant company should be at least INR 15 Crore: It’s a financial component that comprises of the financial payment gateway license cost. When it comes to technology, the more you spend, the better you’ll get. Thus, the RBI has chosen INR 15 Crore to be the minimum required capital to run a payment gateway business.
  4. The net worth of the applicant company should be INR 25 Crore after 3 years of operation: How good your business acumen is reflected in your business plan? For a payment gateway, that business plan should increase of net worth of 10 Crore rupees to INR 25 Crore after three years of operation.

Justification of the above eligibility cost of payment gateway license India

Now that you know what it takes to considered worthy for a payment gateway license, let’s now look into why RBI chose those specific points to begin with:

  1. Company incorporation necessary: If your payment gateway isn’t an organized business infrastructure, no customer the ele4ior authority would take you seriously. Incorporating your payment gateway business as a structured business organization gives it legitimacy in the eyes of Reserve bank of India.
  2. PCI DSS Certification: Unless you have a third party who is auditing your payment gateway with an unbiased eye, you won’t know whether your technology is even worthy for the people. Having PCI DSS’s stamp of approval helps people get behind your product.
  3. Net worth and business plan requirement: Every business should have a roadmap of growth. However, for a payment gateway, that roadmap should be more established. As you’re basically given the reins of how people pay and receive money online, you should have business plans to actually provide quality services.

Conclusion

The eligibility cost of payment gateway certificate in India might be too high. But it exists to assure the people of the country that the technology present in India is worth their time. It’s also to push native entrepreneurs towards a business that has an influx of too many foreign players.

That’s why, if you seek payment gateway certificate, make sure that you bring your best technology and best business structure forward.

Is the payment gateway license cost too high? Why it’s the case? In this article, you’ll find us justifying the payment gateway license cost in India.

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