A union, led by SBI and a global alliance has proposed RBI to prevent large companies from setting up payment networks, in a letter stating that privatization could compromise data safety.

 

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Last year RBI invited companies to forge New Umbrella Entities (NUEs) to create a payments network that would rival the country's flagship processor, the National Payments Council of India (NPCI) to reduce concentration risks in the payments sector. The NUE will be allowed to operate new payment systems including digital and ATM transactions. Amazon, Google, Facebook, and others have applied for such licenses in partnership with Indian companies such as Reliance and ICICI Bank. The All India State Bank of India (SBI) Staff Federation and the UNI Global Union, a vocal critic of tech giants, wrote in the letter stating that the involvement of big MNCs raises fears concerning the abuse of user data, also India's digital payment networks should continue to operate on a non-profit basis.

The letter requested RBI to discard the entire process of NUE licensing and concentrate on strengthening the domestic payments group, NPCI, which operates as a non-profit. State-backed NPCI forms the backbone of the country’s digital payments system, India is an attractive digital payments market for everyone. An Assocham-PWC India study in 2019 stated that digital payments in India could rise from $65 billion in 2019 to $135 billion in 2023.

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