The country’s apex bank, Reserve Bank of India(RBI) has said that it’s reviewing the possibility to bring payment gateway operators under its direct regulatory horizon. The move is expected to make the ecosystem of digital payments more secure and seamless.
The RBI’s governor Shaktikanta Das in a statement said, ‘’We are considering the feasibility of directly regulating these payment operators…given their growing importance in the payment systems of the country, we deem such a step to be important,”
The banking regulator has also said that it will soon float a draft regulatory guideline for stakeholder consultations.
Payment firms have been readily facing issues including fee which businesses shell out for integrating digital payments, redressal of grievances related to failed transactions etc. Payment operators are optimistic that RBI will address these issues in the consultation paper.
As per Industry sources, the encouragement by RBI to companies to propel innovation in the retail payment space has lead to a mushrooming growth of companies. The move has helped a host of small merchants who can’t afford to tie up with big players but on the flipside, it has also created a threat for the ecosystem.
A large number of payment firms have just deployed a technology layer over gateway entities without ensuring settlements directly via a nodal bank account.
