Junio Payments (JPPL), a subsidiary of FirstPay Technologies, has received in-principle approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to issue prepaid payment instruments (PPIs)
This approval will allow the company to introduce a digital wallet connected to the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), targeting the young population and teenagers who can use it to make payments by scanning UPI QR codes, even if they do not have a bank account.
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The company stated that the wallet is designed in line with the UPI Circle initiative by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
The initiative allows young users to transact using their parents’ linked UPI accounts, thereby aiming to provide financial education and encourage spending within a controlled framework, reported The Economic Times.
Currently, Junio offers a financial management app alongside RuPay co-branded prepaid cards, both physical and virtual, that enable parents to transfer funds, assign allowances or tasks, set spending limits, and monitor transactions in real time.
Junio described the RBI’s decision as a “significant milestone” which will further support its effort to create a secure and educational financial ecosystem for younger users in India.
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By GlobalDataJunio Payments’ CEO and cofounder Ankit Gera was quoted by Inc42 as saying: “This in-principle authorisation from the RBI is more than a regulatory nod — it’s an affirmation of our vision to reimagine how the next generation experiences money. Prepaid wallet is more powerful now as it can be linked for UPI payments.”
The company was established in 2020 by Gera and Shankar Nath, the former Paytm executives.
Its platform allows families to manage pocket money transfers and keep track of children’s spending electronically.
In addition, Gera and Nath established Securis Finance, a separate NBFC subsidiary under FirstPay Technologies, in March 2025.
Securis focuses on providing education financing solutions for teenagers.
In May, Business Standard reported that fintech startup ZikZuk secured in-principle authorisation from the RBI to issue PPIs.
