Exclusive: Can small finance bank status be granted to payments banks?

In a significant development, the Reserve Bank of India and the Ministry of Finance are considering granting the small finance bank status to payments banks, Zee Business learned from sources. 

Can payments banks be granted the status of small finance banks? The Ministry of Finance and theReserve Bank of India (RBI) are discussing the prospect of granting the small finance bank status to payments banks, sources in the know of talks told Zee Business. 

At the time of publishing this report, queries emailed to the RBI and the finance ministry remained unanswered. 

The grant of the small finance bank (SFB) is expected to boost payments banks’ businesses, according to analysts. 

Small finance banks play a vital role in promoting financial inclusion in the domestic banking system.