Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPI) Master Direction
RBI's rules for wallets and prepaid cards: who may issue them, KYC levels and the limits that go with them, how balances are loaded and used, and interoperability.
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Embedded Finance · Wallet InfrastructureWallets on your platform — what it takes, and where to start.
Wallet infrastructure lets a platform hold and show a balance for each user. Here is what it involves, how it differs from accepting wallets, and what Paynancial publishes today.
- What a wallet is
- Accept vs run
- Published facts only
- Talk to our team
In short
Wallet infrastructure lets a platform hold a stored balance for each of its users. Paynancial does not describe wallet infrastructure on this site; what it publishes is accepting wallets as a payment method at checkout. The regulatory requirements for running a wallet are not summarised here until they have been verified against official sources.
Overview
What wallet infrastructure means on Paynancial.
Two things are often both called "wallets". Accepting wallets means your customers pay you from a wallet they already have — the Paynancial Payment Gateway accepts wallets alongside cards, UPI and netbanking. Running a wallet means your platform holds a balance for each user that they can top up and spend — that is wallet infrastructure.
Running a wallet changes how money flows through your product, and it comes with its own regulatory requirements. Many platforms find that what they actually need is simpler: a record of what each user is owed, settled by payouts. Talk to our team before you design around a stored balance.
Availability: Wallet infrastructure — holding and showing a balance for each user — is not described on this site, so no wallet capability is claimed here. Accepting wallets as a payment method is a Payment Gateway feature.
Confirm with our team before you plan:
- Whether a stored balance is what your product needs
- Who would issue the wallet
- KYC for your users
- How balances would be funded, used and withdrawn
How it works
Step by step.
- 01Define the need
Decide whether users need a spendable balance, or just a record of what they are owed.
- 02Check the requirements
Take professional advice on the rules that apply to a stored balance, from the official sources.
- 03Decide who operates it
Work out who would operate the wallet and under what arrangement.
- 04Plan verification
Decide how you will verify each user before they hold a balance.
- 05Talk to our team
Share your requirements before you build.
Published today
What Paynancial offers now.
Related capabilities — not wallet infrastructure.
- Accept wallets
- Customers can pay from wallets at checkout, alongside cards, UPI and netbanking.
- Payouts
- Pay users what they are owed, to a bank account or UPI ID.
- Refunds
- Full or partial refunds against the original payment.
- Settlement records
- Every transaction is tied to a settlement record.
- Webhooks
- Events for payments, payouts, refunds and settlements.
- Reports
- Transaction reports for any date range.
Where it lives
Across the Paynancial platform.
Wallet Infrastructure is not a separate system — it runs through the products and tools you already use.
| Where | What you get |
|---|---|
| Payment Gateway | Wallets as a payment method. See Payment Gateway. |
| Embedded Payouts | Paying users what they are owed. See Embedded Payouts. |
| Refunds | Returning money to a customer. See Refunds. |
| Our team | Wallet requirements. Ask about wallet infrastructure. |
In India
Wallets in India.
General information only. Not legal, tax, financial or regulatory advice.
- Prepaid payment instruments
- In India, wallets are prepaid payment instruments (PPIs), regulated by the RBI under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007.
- Authorised issuers
- Businesses should consider the RBI's authorisation requirements for PPI issuers; platforms that are not authorised typically work with an authorised issuer.
- KYC decides limits
- RBI rules link what a wallet can hold and do to how fully its user has been verified.
- Interoperability
- RBI's PPI rules also address interoperability between wallets.
Compliance in India
The RBI and NPCI rules around wallet infrastructure in India.
A plain-language guide to the frameworks that may apply. General information only. Not legal, tax, financial or regulatory advice. It is not a statement of Paynancial's own licences or authorisations.
Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007
The law under which the Reserve Bank of India regulates and supervises payment systems in India, including the authorisation of payment system operators. Businesses should consider the applicable requirements under this Act.
Know Your Customer (KYC) Direction
Customer due diligence obligations for RBI-regulated entities. Payment aggregators apply due diligence to the merchants they onboard.
Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023
India's law on processing digital personal data — including the personal data in payment records — based on consent, purpose limitation and security safeguards.
Regulators update these rules by circular, so always check the current text at the source: Reserve Bank of India · NPCI. For Paynancial's own security and compliance posture, see the Trust Center.
Good practice
Getting it right.
- 01Start from the user need
A balance you owe a user and a balance a user can spend are different products with different rules.
- 02Get regulatory advice early
Speak to a compliance adviser before designing a stored balance.
- 03Keep a clean ledger
Whatever you build, record every movement of each user's money.
FAQ
Wallet Infrastructure questions.
What is wallet infrastructure?
The systems that let a platform hold and show a stored balance for each of its users, which they can top up and spend.
Does Paynancial offer wallet infrastructure?
Wallet infrastructure is not described on this site, so no wallet capability is claimed. The Payment Gateway accepts wallets as a payment method, which is different from running a wallet.
Is running a wallet regulated?
Running a wallet comes with regulatory requirements. Paynancial will publish a summary only once it has been verified against official sources; take professional advice before designing a stored balance.
What is the alternative to a wallet?
Many platforms only need a record of what each user is owed, settled by payouts to a bank account or UPI ID. Talk to our team before designing around a stored balance.
Ask about wallet infrastructure.
This capability is not confirmed as a Paynancial product. Tell us what you need and our team will tell you what is available.