What Is a Payment Aggregator Cross Border (PA-CB)?

A payment aggregator collects payments from buyers on behalf of merchants and then settles the money to them. When the buyer is abroad, RBI treats the activity as cross-border and places the aggregator in the PA-CB category. Exporters are included as merchants in RBI's definition. A PA-CB that handles inward transactions collects foreign exchange for Indian exporters. RBI's directions set rules on how the aggregator keeps funds, who it deals with for foreign currency and how it helps the exporter's bank close export entries. Before using one, check that it appears on RBI's list of authorised payment aggregators in the PA-CB category.

For example, a freelance developer invoices a client in Canada. The client pays through an authorised PA-CB, and the aggregator passes the information to the freelancer's AD bank so the matching export entry can be closed. The names and amounts here are hypothetical.

• Bank compliance: Under paragraph 11(h) of RBI's directions, a PA-CB provides the documents or information the exporter's AD bank needs to close the matching EDPMS entry.
• Risk: Authorisation is the check that matters. RBI's list of certificates of authorisation shows which aggregators are authorised, and the list is updated from time to time.
• Limits: Under paragraph 11(d), the maximum value per transaction processed by a PA-CB is Rs 25 lakh, and a PA-CB cannot buy or sell foreign currency with anyone other than an Authorised Dealer.
• Currency of settlement: Under paragraph 11(i), settlement in non-INR currencies is permitted only for Indian exporters directly onboarded by a PA-CB facilitating inward transactions.

A PA-CB works by collecting the buyer's payment, using an AD bank for the foreign exchange, and settling to the exporter while passing on the information needed for export records.

1. The exporter is onboarded as a merchant, with due diligence under the directions.
2. The overseas buyer pays through the aggregator's collection method.
3. The foreign exchange passes through an AD bank, because a PA-CB cannot trade foreign currency with any other entity under paragraph 11(d).
4. The AD Category-I bank holds the inward collection account and checks FEMA requirements, under paragraph 11(e).
5. The aggregator settles to the exporter, in rupees or, for directly onboarded exporters, in other permitted currencies.
6. The aggregator gives the exporter's AD bank the information for closing the EDPMS entry, under paragraph 11(h).

You check a PA-CB by confirming its name and category on RBI's published lists, reading the settlement terms and asking how it supports your export documents. Authorisation status changes, so check the date of the list.

1. Get the provider's full legal name from its terms, not its brand name.
2. Search for that name in RBI's list of certificates of authorisation and confirm the PA-CB category.
3. Note whether it is listed for inward transactions, outward transactions or both.
4. Ask how it will give your AD bank the information to close your EDPMS entry.
5. Ask which currencies it settles in and whether you will be onboarded directly.
6. Keep the credit advice and any document issued for your export records. See how to check an RBI authorised payment aggregator.

• Card payments: The directions state that a card transaction where the card network handles foreign exchange settlement and the aggregator receives local currency is not part of PA-CB activity.
• Banks: A bank does not need separate authorisation for payment aggregation business, so PA-CB listings cover non-bank entities.
• No limit: The directions set a maximum of Rs 25 lakh per transaction processed by a PA-CB.
• Any currency: Settlement in non-INR currencies is available only to directly onboarded Indian exporters on inward PA-CB services.

• Payment gateway: Technology that passes payment details between the buyer, merchant and bank.
• Virtual account: An account number linked to a main account to identify incoming payments.
• Local collection account: An account in the buyer's country used to collect payments locally.
• AD bank: The bank authorised to deal in foreign exchange.
• EDPMS: The system AD banks use to record exports and match receipts.

Every rule and definition on this page is linked to its official source, checked on the dates below.

1. Reserve Bank of India (Regulation of Payment Aggregators) Directions, 2025, Master Direction RBI/DPSS/2025-26/141, Paragraph 4 (definitions and PA categories), paragraph 11(d), (e), (h) and (i) (checked 9 Oct 2026)
2. RBI: Certificates of Authorisation issued under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007 (dated 30 September 2026), Section A (Payment Aggregators) (checked 9 Oct 2026)