Ask Veda
Fintechs are regulated by what they do with money: lending in your own books needs an NBFC licence, holding merchants' money needs a payment-aggregator authorisation.
What each registration is, who issues it and when it applies to a fintech. Rules vary by state and by size — treat this as the map, and ask us about your exact case.
Mandatory for an NBFC · MCA
A separate legal entity with limited liability — the structure investors, banks and larger customers expect, and the only common one that can issue equity and ESOPs.
Mandatory · CBIC
Required once aggregate turnover crosses the threshold — ₹40 lakh for goods and ₹20 lakh for services in most states — and in some cases from the first sale, such as most inter-state supplies of goods.
To lend in your own books · RBI
Lending or investing as a principal business needs a certificate of registration from RBI, with net-owned-fund requirements that RBI is raising in phases.
If you handle merchants' payments · RBI
A company that collects payments for merchants and settles them later needs RBI authorisation as a payment aggregator. Only companies can apply, and RBI sets minimum net-worth, governance and technology requirements.
Recommended · tax benefits
Free recognition for eligible entities under 10 years old with turnover under ₹100 crore: self-certification under labour and environment laws, cheaper and faster patent and trademark filing, and eligibility to apply for the startup income-tax holiday.
Recommended · app and brand
Protects your brand name and logo across India, and is what marketplace brand-registry programmes ask for. Filing early fixes your date of priority.
Some registrations need another one first — this is the sequence that avoids rework.
After the registrations come the returns and filings that keep you compliant.
GST returns, bookkeeping, TDS and annual filings — everything a business like yours has to keep doing, in one place.
See the compliance pack →What people starting a fintech ask us most.
Lending from your own books needs NBFC registration. Many apps instead partner with a bank or NBFC as a lending service provider under RBI's digital lending rules.
A company that receives payments on behalf of merchants and settles them later. A pure technology provider that never touches the funds does not.
No. NBFC registration and payment-aggregator authorisation are open only to companies.
Every sector, with its own checklist.
A CA or CS confirms which of these apply to you, in your state, and handles the ones we cover.