Jio, banks, fintech execs eye new NUE licence to rival NPCI

Bengaluru: The race for the proposed new umbrella entity (NUE) for retail payments is heating up. ItzCash founder Navin Surya and Infibeam Avenues executive director Vishwas Patel are joining forces to set up a new firm to apply for the NUE licence with the RBI. Paytm Payments Bank is also considering to apply for a licence, three people aware of the matter said.

This adds to the “strong interest” already shown in the NUE from HDFC Bank. Additionally, India’s largest conglomerates like Reliance (through Jio) and Tata Group are also looking to apply for the licence as digital payments continue to soar, aided by the pandemic. The NUE will challenge the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and is expected to offer services like managing ATMs, point-of-sales machines, Aadhaar-based payments and remittances.