Cashfree Payments appoints Abhaya Hota as Independent Director

Payments and API banking company Cashfree Payments has announced the appointment of former NPCI MD & CEO Abhaya Hota as an Independent Director of the company.

Hota has spent close to three decades in the Reserve Bank of India. He was the Managing Director & CEO of the National Payments Corporation of India, where he played a critical role in the design, development, and implementation of payment systems and policies in India.

He was also instrumental in the implementation of MICR technology in Cheque Clearing, the launch of UPI, and RuPay credit cards, which is India’s own card scheme. Additionally, he serves as an Independent Director at Federal Bank, NSE Clearing, Protean e-Gov Technologies, and the RBI Innovation Hub.

“His wealth of experience at the highest levels of banking and finance in the country will be of great value to us, especially from a governance and strategic policies point of view. Mr. Hota will be a great asset to the board and management at Cashfree Payments,” said Akash Sinha, Co-founder & CEO, Cashfree Payments.

• Also read: Cashfree Payments applies for PA-CB licence, aims to return to PAT in FY25

The Bengaluru-based company saw its revenue from operations rising 75 per cent year-on-year to ₹614 crore in FY23, while it recorded a loss of ₹133 crore, a significant jump from ₹3 crore in the previous year.

“I am happy to join Cashfree Payments India Pvt Ltd’s board as an Independent Director and look forward to supporting them as they grow and scale India’s digital payments ecosystem,” said Hota.

Cashfree Payments had received approval from the RBI to operate as a payment aggregator and resumed the process of onboarding new merchants, following a nearly year-long regulatory ban.

Since receiving the PA license in December 2023, the company has onboarded thousands of large, medium and small scale merchants. The company has been at the forefront of redefining the way businesses approach digital payments, verification and payouts through its wide range of tech-first offerings. Over the last few months it has introduced industry-first products like FlowWise, KYC Link, Risk Shield, and more. Outside India, Cashfree Payments is expanding its presence in the UAE region through Telr, its acquired partner..

Outside India, Cashfree Payments is expanding its presence in the UAE region through Telr, its acquired partner.”