IRCTC’s payments division gains RBI approval to act as an online payment aggregator; all you need to know

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today granted an in-principle authorisation to Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) Payments Limited. IRCTC Payments Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of IRCTC and will operate as an online payment aggregator under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007.

As per the stock exchange filing made by IRCTC, the authorisation was received via email on the same day, based on the RBI’s official letter dated 4 August 2025.

Here is what you must know

Under the PSS Act 2007, an Online Payment Aggregator (OPA) is a regulated entity that enables online payments for merchants without needing the merchant to make a direct relationship with a bank or payment service provider.

In this way, IRCTC Payments Limited will now be able to facilitate online transactions for merchants and consumers, offering services such as payment collection, fund settlement, and transaction processing through various payment instruments like UPI, debit/credit cards, and net banking.

For example, Razorpay, Cashfree Payments, etc., allow businesses to accept multiple types of digital payments, like credit cards, debit cards, UPI, net banking, and wallets, through a single platform. Now, IRCTC payments itself will enable online transactions for merchants and consumers.

What aggregators do

The aggregator manages the entire process, including onboarding merchants, verifying customer transactions, and settling funds into merchant accounts. They are also responsible for checking merchant details (due diligence, KYC, etc.) before onboarding.

It also ensures secure payment processing through encryption, fraud detection, and strict compliance with RBI. It also follows mandated cybersecurity and data privacy standards.

Moreover, the RBI’s regulatory framework ensures that such aggregators maintain high standards of security, transparency, and customer protection.

While IRCTC is already a big player in the e-ticketing platform, this move is regarded as a diversification strategy by IRCTC.

Through its subsidiary, it now aims to formally enter the digital payments market and potentially expand into broader financial services in the future.