MobiKwik RBI PA-P nod lifts stock 6% on May 26

RBI clears the next step for offline payments

One MobiKwik Systems, the parent company of MobiKwik, has received in-principle approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for a Payment Aggregator-Physical (PA-P) licence. The approval enables the fintech to deepen its offline merchant payments business across India, a segment where payment acceptance and merchant engagement can differ meaningfully from online-only flows.

The company described the approval as an important milestone as it works towards scaling compliant payment acceptance infrastructure for offline commerce. It also positioned the move as part of a broader push to serve both consumers and merchants through payments and financial services.

What the Payment Aggregator-Physical licence enables

A PA-P licence allows a firm to build and operate payment acceptance infrastructure for offline merchant transactions, subject to regulatory requirements. In its exchange filing, MobiKwik said the licence strengthens its ability to build a compliant, secure and scalable payment acceptance setup for offline commerce in partnership with banks.

The company also indicated it sees offline payments as a long-term monetisation opportunity, driven by merchant engagement and the use of transaction data to support merchant lending. That framing matters because it links payment volumes to potential credit outcomes, without implying any immediate financial impact.

A regulatory sequence: NBFC licence, then PA-P

The PA-P nod comes about a month after the company secured an RBI licence to operate as a non-banking financial company (NBFC). The proximity of these approvals signals a clear regulatory track: strengthening payments infrastructure while also building the ability to lend through a regulated entity.

Separately, MobiKwik has already obtained a Payment Aggregator-Online (PA-O) licence through its subsidiary Zaakpay about a year ago. With PA-O and in-principle PA-P, the company has highlighted its intention to build omnichannel merchant payments capabilities across online and offline commerce.

Management’s growth target: 10x merchant business by FY28

MobiKwik said the PA-P approval strengthens its ability to scale merchant payments infrastructure across the country and sets it up for 10x growth in its merchant business by FY28. The company reiterated this target in its communications around the approval.

The stated strategy focuses on under-penetrated markets and offline acceptance. While the company did not provide a detailed execution plan in the shared text, it tied the opportunity to expanding payment acceptance and using merchant transaction data more effectively.

Market sizing: Redseer pegs a $1.8 to $1.0 trillion GMV opportunity

In its filing, the company cited industry estimates from consulting firm Redseer that put the gross merchandise value (GMV) of the merchant payments opportunity at $1.8 to $1.0 trillion by FY28. The estimate is presented as a market opportunity size rather than company-specific volume.

The reference helps explain why fintech firms are focusing on offline merchant acceptance, particularly as online payment penetration is already high in many categories. For payment firms, the next leg often involves deepening acceptance at the point of sale and improving merchant tooling.

Stock market reaction: shares jump over 6%, hit Rs 205.70

Investors responded quickly to the RBI update. Shares of One MobiKwik Systems rose more than 6% on Tuesday after the company announced the in-principle approval.

On the NSE, the stock surged 6.04% to Rs 202.70 on May 26, and also hit an intraday high of Rs 205.70. Another reported data point in the shared text shows the stock moving to around Rs 205.60 versus a previous close of Rs 191.25.

Merchant footprint and offline acceptance tools

MobiKwik said it supports a network of 4.9 million merchants. Its merchant offerings include UPI QR, Soundbox and EDC machines, which are typical components of offline payment acceptance infrastructure.

For offline commerce, these tools can help standardise payment acceptance, improve payment success rates, and provide data trails that can be used to assess merchant activity. The company explicitly linked offline payments to long-term monetisation via merchant engagement and potential merchant lending.

Profitability note: Q4 FY26 return mentioned

The shared text also notes that the fintech reported a return to profitability in Q4 FY26, supported by revenue growth and improving operational performance across its merchant ecosystem. However, no specific profit or revenue numbers were provided in the material.

This context is relevant because regulatory permissions often require compliance investments, and markets typically track whether operating performance is improving alongside expansion efforts.

Key facts at a glance

What to watch next

The approval is in-principle, so the next key development will be the company’s progress on meeting RBI conditions required to operationalise the PA-P licence. Separately, investors are likely to track how quickly MobiKwik scales offline acceptance in partnership with banks and whether the merchant business growth target for FY28 is supported by measurable execution milestones.

For the market, the update reinforces that regulated fintech expansion is increasingly being built around a combination of payments infrastructure and regulated credit capability, particularly in offline merchant ecosystems.