On 25th February 2021, the HDFC bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank acquired 9.99% stakes each in Ferbine Private Limited, a company promoted by Tata Sons, which plans to apply to the Reserve Bank of India to set up a Pan India Umbrella entity(PUE) for retail payments.
HDFC Bank:
i.HDFC bank has executed an agreement to subscribe 4995 equity shares each of face value Rs.10 each fully paid up issued by Ferbine for a consideration of Rs.10 per equity share.
ii.The acquisition of cash consideration of Rs.49950 will be completed by the end of February 2021.
Kotak Mahindra Bank:
Kotak Mahindra Bank has also subscribed 4995 equity shares for Rs.49950 which translated into an equity shareholding of 9.99% on 25th February 2021.
Umbrella Entity:
- Umbrella Entity shall be a company authorised by RBI under Section 4 of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007
- The umbrella entity shall have a minimum paid-up capital of Rs.500 crore.
- A minimum net-worth of Rs.300 crore shall be maintained at all times.
- RBI guidelines mandate that applicants have at least three years of experience in the payments space.
- Umbrella Entity will be entitled to set up, manage and operate new payment systems in the retail space including ATMs, PoS, Aadhaar-based payments and remittance services.
- The PUE is expected to develop systems that able to interact and be interoperable to the extent possible with the existing systems operated by NPCI.
- Unlike NPCI, the PUE can be a for-profit entity. No single promoter is allowed to have more than 40 percent investment in the capital of the PUE, as per RBI guidelines.
- The promoter shareholding can be diluted to a minimum of 25 percent after five years of the commencement of business of the umbrella entity.
Key Points:
i.Ferbine Private Limited was incorporated on 18th January 2021 to make an application to RBI for the PUE license.
ii.The main business of the company is to operate a pan India PUE for retail payment systems.
iii.The RBI’s last day for applying for an umbrella entity for retail payments
Recent Related News:
On May 30, 2020, Private sector lender Yes Bank Limited has acquired a 24.19% stake in Dish TV India Ltd, a company providing Direct to Home (DTH) television service in India, following invocation of 44.53 crore pledged shares due to default in payment of debt by Dish TV and some other companies.
It is to be noted that as of March 31, 2019, Dish TV’s debt stood at Rs 2,758 crore.
About HDFC Bank:
MD & CEO– Sashidhar Jagdishan
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
Tagline– We Understand your World
About Kotak Mahindra Bank:
MD & CEO– Uday Kotak
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
Tagline– Let’s Make Money Simple, Ab Kona Kona Kotak
