BlackBuck Subsidiary Gets PPI Licence From RBI

Listed logistics major BlackBuck parent Zinka Logistics’ subsidiary has secured a prepaid paid instruments (PPI) licence from the Reserve Bank Of India (RBI). 

In an exchange filing today, the company said that the central bank granted the licence to TZF Logistics Solutions Pvt Ltd, its wholly owned subsidiary.

Under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007, a licence is necessary for banks and non-banks to issue PPIs.

For context, PPIs facilitate purchase of goods and services, conduct of financial services, enable remittance facilities, and more, against the value stored therein.

“The licence will help TZF Logistics Solutions Pvt Ltd, wholly owned subsidiary of the company set up and operate a payment system for prepaid payment instruments,” BlackBuck said in its filing.

As per BlackBuck’s RHP, filed in November last year, TZF Logistics is engaged in the business of providing technology based logistics products and services including transport for providing customers with a platform for hiring of all types of trucks, lorries, containers, cold storage vehicles, cars, fleet taxis, among others.

TZF Logistics was incorporated in 2018 and reported a loss of INR 17.5 Lakh in FY24.

While BlackBuck didn’t exactly specify how it plans to use the PPI licence, it can likely provide it to truckers for making fuel and FASTag payments.

Founded in 2015 by Rajesh Yabaji, Chanakya Hridaya, and Ramasubramaniam B, BlackBuck initially started as an online truck aggregator and later expanded its offerings to a comprehensive range of solutions for load management, telematics, payment and vehicle financing.

It connects truck fleet operators to big and small businesses with shipment requirements. Truck operators often lack transparency in operations around fuel cost, expenses and safety of trucks and tracking. To tackle these issues, BlackBuck offers GPS tracking and truck theft protection solutions, FASTag payments and fuel cards, verified communication channels between the trucker and the shipper and vehicle financing solutions. 

The company generates revenues through platform fees, subscriptions and commissions. It claimed to hold a 27.52% market share in the domestic freight industry in FY24. 

The company returned to the black in Q4 FY25, posting a net profit of INR 280.1 Cr against a loss of INR 90.8 Cr in the year-ago quarter. The profit number also included a tax credit INR 245 Cr. Meanwhile, operating revenue zoomed 30.6% to INR 121.8 Cr from INR 93.2 Cr in Q4 FY24. 

Shares of the company were trading 1.1% higher at INR 434.70 on the BSE at 02:30 PM today.