'Cos should be serious about payments bank'

Making a strong statement to the players who chose not to pursue the payments banking licence, RBI said that companies should be serious about the business before applying for a licence.

“We are not overly perturbed that some people decided after analysis that they would not go forward. Infact, it suggests that licencing has been adequately liberal,” Rajan said. “We have to find someway that people devote adequate time to understand whether infact they should apply or not. The days where licences where rationed and therefore you had to get a licence because otherwise you could not get it down the line, we hope it is a passe,”  he said.

“Therefore, when you go forward, do a proper assessment, don’t just go for a licence because its a valuable property to have. But instead, do the due diligence on your own and when you apply, it should be with the intent of fully carrying out,” Rajan added.

RBI had given in-principle approval to 11 applicants last year to set up payments banks. Of these, three players, including Tech Mahindra, Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company and a consortium of Dilip Shanghvi, IDFC Bank and Telenor Financial Services decided not to pursue the final payments bank licence.