Mumbai, Sept 24: Samvriddhi Inclusive Growth Network Pvt. Ltd. (SIGN), a Corporate Business Correspondent focused on last-mile financial inclusion, has received in-principle authorization from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to operate as an Online Payment Aggregator (PA-Online), marking the company’s expansion from assisted banking and financial inclusion services into the online digital payments ecosystem.
Subject to final authorization from the RBI, SIGN will build and offer online payment aggregation services for merchants. The company plans to focus on small businesses and merchants, including those operating in rural, semi-urban, and underserved markets.
Samvriddhi plans to offer merchants a comprehensive suite of online payment solutions, including payment gateway services for accepting payments through UPI, QR-based payments, credit and debit cards, and net banking, along with digital collections, payment links, and other online payment-management capabilities. The PA-Online business will operate as a dedicated digital offering, separate from the company’s existing CSP-led assisted banking and financial inclusion activities.
Over time, the company plans to evaluate additional digital payment and financial-service offerings, subject to applicable regulatory approvals, licenses, and partnerships.
“Digital payments are a critical part of how small businesses from underserved markets participate in the formal economy. The Payment Aggregator authorization strengthens our ability to enter the online digital payments market and build technology-led payment solutions for merchants. This is a new growth opportunity for Samvriddhi as we expand from last-mile banking into online payment aggregation,” said Atish Shelar, Group CEO, Samvriddhi Inclusive Growth Network Pvt. Ltd (SIGN).
Samvriddhi has been operating as a Corporate Business Correspondent since 2010 and currently has a network of 10,000+ Customer Service Points (CSPs) across 12+ states. Its existing operations include kiosk banking, AEPS-related services, DBT facilitation, government social-security scheme enrolment, financial literacy, loan sourcing, and recovery support, and CSP deployment and management. The company says its network has processed 15 million+ transactions and reached 5 million+ DBT beneficiaries, alongside conducting 250+ financial literacy events.
Samvriddhi currently works with leading banks such as the State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Bank of Baroda, Odisha Gramin Bank, West Bengal Gramin Bank, and UCO Bank. The company now plans to add a dedicated online payment aggregation business alongside its existing last-mile financial inclusion operations.
Commenting on the development, Chirag Shah, Chairman and Founder, MOS Utility Limited, shared, “Our ambition is to build beyond a payments product and create a technology-led financial services platform that works for India’s small businesses. The PA-Online authorisation gives us the foundation to build digital payment acceptance and online collection capabilities and, over time, evaluate additional digital payment and financial services, subject to the relevant regulatory framework. Our focus at this stage is on building a strong online payment aggregation platform for merchants.
The PA-Online authorisation marks a new phase in Samvriddhi’s growth, adding online payment aggregation to its existing financial-inclusion and last-mile banking operations.