PB Money, an investment platform strategically partnered with Paisabazaar, has received a licence from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to operate as an Online Bond Platform Provider (OBPP), enabling it to facilitate bond investments through its digital platform.
Paisabazaar is part ofPB Fintech, the listed parent company behind the financial products marketplace.
The partnership will allow consumers to discover PB Money’s bond investment offering through Paisabazaar and complete their investments on PB Money’s platform.
The licence will enable PB Money to manage the bond investment process, including investor onboarding, know-your-customer (KYC) verification, bond discovery, order placement, payment coordination and post-investment servicing, the company said in a statement on October 14.
Investors will be able to explore bonds using parameters such as yield, credit rating and investment amount, allowing them to compare available options on the platform.
Bonds are fixed-income instruments that pay interest according to their terms. However, returns are not guaranteed in every case, and investors face risks including issuer default, changes in market interest rates and liquidity constraints.
Santosh Agarwal, Director, PB Money and CEO of Paisabazaar, said the licence would help simplify the bond investment journey and make fixed-income products more accessible to retail investors.
The SEBI licence comes as PB Money looks to expand its investment offerings through digital distribution. The company has not specified in the announcement when the platform will begin offering investments under the licence or which bonds will be available initially.