Economics
Context: The payments arm of big technology companies Amazon and Google have been given in-principle approval by the RBI to operate as online payment aggregators.
About Payment Aggregators:
- A payment aggregator or merchant aggregator is a third-party service provider that allows merchants to accept payment from customers by integrating it into their websites or apps.
- A payment aggregator bridges the gap between merchants and acquirers.
- A merchant need not have a merchant account directly with the bank.
- At its core, payment aggregators bear the heavy load of integration with various payment providers to provide an all-inclusive solution for payment acceptance.
Types of payment aggregators in India
- Third-party payment aggregators:
- Third-party PAs offer innovative payment solutions to businesses.
- Their user-friendly features include a comprehensive dashboard, easy merchant onboarding, and quick customer support.
- Bank payment aggregators:
- They lack many of the popular payment options along with detailed reporting features.
- Bank payment aggregators are not suitable for small businesses and startups because of the high cost and difficult to integrate.
Source: Indian Express
Previous Year Questions
Q.1) Which one of the following situations best reflects “Indirect Transfers” often talked about in media recently with reference to India? (2022)
- An Indian company investing in a foreign enterprise and paying taxes to the foreign country on the profits arising out of its investment
- A foreign company investing in India and paying taxes to the country of its base on the profits arising out of its investment
- An Indian company purchases tangible assets in a foreign country and sells such assets after their value increases and transfers the proceeds to India
- A foreign company transfers shares and such shares derive their substantial value from assets located in India
Q.2) Consider the following:
- Foreign currency convertible bonds
- Foreign institutional investment with certain conditions
- Global depository receipts
- Non-resident external deposits
Which of the above can be included in Foreign Direct Investments? (2021)
- 1, 2 and 3
- 3 only
- 2 and 4
- 1 and 4
