NPCI extends equity shares to 131 new payment entities

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has issued a private placement offer (PPO) for 6.5 lakh equity shares to a group of 131 private banks, foreign banks, small finance banks, payment banks and payment system operators including pre-paid instrument providers. The entity will raise Rs 81.64 crore as part of the issuance.

Managing director and CEO of NPCI Dilip Asbe has also been granted a two year extension in his current post. Asbe, who was appointed to the post in 2018, was to complete his tenure on January 8, 2021. With his re-appointment, he will serve NPCI in his current designation until January 7, 2023. 

People close to the development told TechCircle that NPCI had sent out the PPO a few weeks prior and the range of investment by each entity is capped from Rs 1 crore to Rs 10 crore. The prospectus also mentions NPCI’s current valuation. 

Among the foreign banks that the NPCI has offered the equity share purchase include Mashreq Bank, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and others. The PSOs offered the option include One Mobikwik System, PhonePe as well as payments banks including Paytm Payments Bank, Airtel Payments Bank and Jio Payments Bank.

The shareholding of each of the 131 banks and fintech will range between a minimum of 0.06% to a maximum of 0.57% post-placement. Post subscription of the 6.5 lakh equity shares, NPCI stated that existing shareholders of the company will see a dilution of 4.63%. 

NPCI in its declaration stated that the move was in line with Reserve Bank of India’s guidelines to broadbase its shareholding for wider representation of the segment of participants regulated by the RBI. Founded in 2008 as a not-for-profit, the retail payments regulator worked with 10 core promoter banks and in 2016 onboarded 56 other banks to broadbase its shareholding. 

NPCI also filed its earnings for the financial year 2019-20. The payments regulator saw income from operations grow to Rs 1099 crore for the financial year ending March 31, 2020, as compared to Rs 901.5 crore in the previous year.