e-wallet

An e-wallet (electronic wallet), also known as a digital wallet, is a software application or online account that allows users to store digital representations of funds — linked to a bank account, debit card, credit card, or loaded with prepaid balance — for making cashless payments for goods, services, bills, and transfers through mobile devices or computers. In India, e-wallets are regulated by the RBI under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act and classified as Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPIs). Prominent Indian e-wallets include Paytm, PhonePe, Amazon Pay, Mobikwik, and Freecharge. E-wallets facilitate instant peer-to-peer money transfers, merchant payments at physical and online retailers, utility bill payments, and increasingly, investment transactions — including mutual fund SIP payments, IPO applications via UPI, and loading trading account balances for stock market transactions. RBI regulations limit the maximum balance in a basic e-wallet to ₹10,000, while full KYC-compliant e-wallets can hold up to ₹2 lakh. For Ventura investors, e-wallets connected to UPI IDs are the preferred digital mechanism for quick fund transfers to and from trading accounts — the UPI-linked e-wallet ecosystem has significantly reduced the friction of managing investment account liquidity in real time, enabling investors to act on market opportunities without delays associated with traditional NEFT/RTGS bank transfers.