Rishi Gupta, CEO, Fino Payments Bank | Photocredit: Paul Noronha
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will probably approve the request of Fino Payments Bank for a conversion to a Small Finance Bank (SFB) in March 2026, told sources line. The supervisor had approved the AU SFB application on 7 August to convert into a universal bank.
“The capital position of Fino is healthy; they remain profitable and the promoters meet the fit and the right criteria. Payment banks have served their goal and ultimately have a better chance of applying for SFB license,” said a source.
According to the RBI guidelines for SFBS licenses, the applicant must maintain a minimum capital-to-agency rating (CRAR) of 15 percent of his risk-weighted assets (RWA) on a continuous basis and the minimum initial contribution to the paid Equity capital will be at least 40 percent. If the first shareholding by the promoter at the bank is more than 40 percent, he must be reduced to 40 percent within a period of five years. The applicant must also meet the guidelines for corporate governance, including ‘fit and correct’ criteria for drivers as published by RBI, among other things.
Fino’s Capital -Teiligence ratio amounted to 75.8 percent at the end of June, and the promoter shareholdership in the company is 75 percent. The payment bank had applied for an SFB license by the end of 2023. The RBI and Fino -Payment Bank did not respond lineThe questions for the time.
In May, Fino Payments Bank had told CEO Rishi Gupta line That the entity ‘hopes’ to receive the approval of the RBI for conversion in an SFB within a few months.
“It has been more than 15 months since we applied for an SFB application. There has also been a lot of involvement in the RBI in recent months. According to us, we expect an unprinciple approval in the coming months, hopefully,” Gupta said.
‘SFB conversion needed’
According to R Gandhi, former deputy governor at RBI, the original model or the intention to launch payment banks is no longer feasible.
“Toen het idee werd opgevat, was het duidelijk dat deze entiteiten geld zullen verdienen aan betalingen en overmakingen. Dat is de reden dat ze mochten slechts £ 1 lakh accepteren als storting van elke klant, wiens limiet later werd verhoogd tot £ 2 lakh. Maar nadat dat model was geïntroduceerd, zei demonetisatie, UPI -transacties, digitale transacties, digitale transacties, digitale transacties, digitale transacties, de geleiding van The government, “Gandhi said.
“So the income model is now inadequate for payment bank, there is no money there, so how they will succeed. Payment banks cannot maintain in their current state. They must be allowed to convert into an SFB,” he added. End
Published August 31, 2025
#RBI #approve #SFB #conversion #request #Fino #March #sources