The RBI has told the Supreme Court it has not granted permission to WhatsApp to go live for full scale operations on the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) payment system.
The central bank, in its counter-affidavit, said: “Reserve Bank had examined the said reports and the responses of the NPCI (National Payments Corporation of India) and was concerned that WhatsApp was storing some payment data elements outside India beyond the permitted timelines indicated in the circular and the Frequently Asked Questions on ‘Storage of Payment System Data’ issued by RBI on June 26, 2019.””It is specifically denied that the RBI has granted permission to WhatsApp to go live for full scale operations on the Unified Payments Interface payment system.”
The RBI also denied that its circular on April 6, 2018 on “Storage of Payment System Data” has been toned down by FAQs issued on June 26, 2019. “It is submitted that Payment System Operators (PSOs) had sought clarification on certain implementation issues, from time to time, from Reserve Bank and the FAQs are intended to provide clarity on those issues to facilitate and ensure expeditious compliance by all PSOs,” said the affidavit.