Global payments platform Nium has signed an agreement to acquire Wirecard’s foreign exchange unit in India. Wirecard Forex India is a licensed authorised dealer under the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) regulations and a payments service provider in the country.

The acquisition will mark the Temasek Holdings Ltd.-backed fintech startup’s entry into the Indian market, where it will directly engage in a variety of payment services activities such as currency conversion, money transfer, and prepaid card issuance, Prajit Nanu, the Chief Executive Officer of Nium.

Prajit said the acquisition of Wirecard’s India unit will give the company an authorised dealership license. The company will also apply for a prepaid payments instrument (PPI) license with RBI to issue its own payment tools as well such as branded travel cards. “Our main objective is the issuance of branded travel cards through Wirecard’s existing partnerships in India,” said Nanu. 

The company said it has issued about 30 million physical and virtual cards and is licensed in 11 jurisdictions, including direct card issuing abilities in 24 different countries and in 40 currencies. The purchase comes at a time when India’s prepaid card market is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 40.5 per cent between 2021 and 2026, Nanu added.