The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has fined Cashfree Payments ₹3.1 lakh for non-compliance with payment aggregator (PA) and payment gateway (PG) norms, following supervisory findings from a recent inspection.
The central bank conducted a statutory inspection covering the period from April 2024 to June 2025. It identified instances of non-compliance with regulatory guidelines governing PAs and PGs, prompting further action.
RBI subsequently issued a show cause notice, asking the company to explain why a penalty should not be imposed. After reviewing the response and additional submissions, the regulator concluded that Cashfree had made certain non-permissible debits from its escrow account, violating prescribed norms.
“After considering the company’s reply to the notice and additional submissions made by it, RBI found, inter alia, that the charge against the company for making certain impermissible debit from the escrow account was sustained, warranting imposition of monetary penalty,” the central bank stated.
The penalty was imposed under Section 30(1) and Section 26(6) of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007. The order was issued on March 9.
Founded in 2015 by Akash Sinha and Reeju Datta, Cashfree Payments provides digital payment solutions including payment gateways, payout systems, and banking APIs. The company claims to have served over 1 Mn businesses and processes transactions worth $80 Bn annually. Its client base includes major platforms such as MakeMyTrip, Zomato, CRED, and Delhivery.
On the financial front, the fintech soonicorn reported a net loss of ₹154.1 crore in FY25, up 14% from ₹135 crore in FY24. Its operating revenue saw a slight dip to ₹640 crore from ₹642.7 crore in the previous fiscal.
The development comes amid increased regulatory scrutiny of fintech companies. Recently, RBI imposed a compounding penalty of ₹18.8 lakh on Paytm for an alleged FEMA violation. In February, it also tightened norms around loans against shares and credit exposure to capital market intermediaries, impacting firms such as Groww and Angel One.
Earlier, in December, RBI directed several banks to pause issuing co-branded credit cards with OneCard until compliance concerns were addressed.
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