Spice Money receives RBI approval to expand rural payments

By Divya Shah

Why it Matters: The approval highlights the growing role of regulated payment infrastructure in driving financial inclusion across India. By enabling merchant payment acceptance through Aadhaar Pay and QR-based solutions, Spice Money can bring more small businesses into the formal digital economy. The move also reflects the RBI’s continued push to expand digital payments beyond urban centres and deepen payment acceptance across underserved markets.

Spice Money Limited, the rural FinTech arm of DiGiSPICE Technologies, has received in-principle authorisation from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to operate as a Payment Aggregator-Physical (PA-P) under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007. 

The approval, subject to compliance with the RBI’s Master Direction on the Regulation of Payment Aggregators, marks Spice Money’s third Payment System Operator (PSO) authorisation after its Prepaid Payment Instrument (PPI) and Bharat Bill Payment Operating Unit (BBPOU) licences. 

The PA-P authorisation will enable the company to facilitate face-to-face and proximity-based digital payments for merchants, extending regulated payment acceptance services across its extensive rural distribution network. 

Dilip Modi, Founder and CEO of Spice Money, said, “With PPI, BBPOU and now PA-P, we hold three PSO authorisations that together cover how Bharat pays and banks transacts. Our Adhikari network gives us a distinct advantage in reaching merchants who have so far remained outside organised digital payment acceptance. Through Aadhaar Pay and QR-based solutions, we will help kirana stores, local traders and small businesses accept digital payments with ease, and in doing so, bring more of Bharat into the formal financial system.” 

Spice Money currently operates through a network of approximately 1.7 million Adhikaris and Business Correspondent (BC) agents, including around 200,000 merchants, providing assisted banking, digital payments and financial services across underserved and rural markets. 

Under the new authorisation, the company plans to expand merchant onboarding across kirana stores, pharmacies, local traders, micro and nano merchants, as well as enterprise customers such as NBFCs, microfinance institutions (MFIs) and logistics companies. The initiative will focus on increasing digital payment acceptance through Aadhaar Pay and QR-based payment solutions. 

The company said the authorisation will further strengthen its assisted banking ecosystem while creating additional income opportunities for its last-mile partners. It also complements Spice Money’s broader strategy of leveraging India’s digital public infrastructure to deliver accessible financial services. 

The development builds on recent initiatives by the company, including Ojas, its AI-powered virtual executive, and the launch of an NPCI AePS three-party cash deposit service, aimed at expanding financial access in rural and semi-urban areas.