WhatsApp yet to comply with data localisation norms: RBI
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has said that the popular messaging. Towards platform WhatsApp is not in compliance with the central bank’s data localisation norms in India. RBI’s comments come as response in an affidavit, reviewed by TOI. Filed with the SC on Wednesday after the apex court made the central bank a party to a writ petition in January.
This is the first time the central bank has made an official statement on WhatsApp’s payments business and compliance because with data localisation. WhatsApp, which is owned by social networking giant Facebook. And has now been operating its payments business — WhatsApp Pay — in beta-mode for a year, restricted to one million users. The RBI also said it is exploring regulatory actions to expedite compliance of data localisation. However, it is being cautious to make sure a consumer’s transaction experience is not disrupted by any such measures.
The RBI
Centre for Accountability and Systemic Change, an NGO, had filed the petition challenging WhatsApp’s compliance standards and absence because of a local grievance officer here. “As informed by National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) on November 16, 2018 and February 5, 2019. The original petition also challenged the Menlo Park-based company of non-payment of local taxes.
The RBI has maintained that payments service providers and third-party payments app should follow its April 6 circular on data localisation, which mandates storage of key payments data only in India. The RBI did not entertain the request.
Sources
Sources said WhatsApp’s newly appointed head for India — Abhijit Bose — recently met NPCI MD & CEO Dilip Asbe in Mumbai to discuss the regulatory concerns and hoping to accelerate the process of obtaining a final nod to roll out its payments service full-scale. For WhatsApp, India is its largest market with over 200 million monthly active users here. An email sent to WhatsApp India spokesperson did not elicit a response at the time of going to press.
In October last year, WhatsApp said it built a system that stores payments-related data locally in India. It keeps the same in its overseas servers as well.
Issues related to fake news and the government’s request to allow message traceability have only added to WhatsApp’s woes in India, ahead of general elections. TOI had previously reported how these non-payments issues have also emerged as a roadblock for the company’s payments operations here. To be sure, foreign payments players like Mastercard, Visa, Google and others are still in the process of complying with RBI’s data localisation guidelines. According to industry sources, these companies have given various timelines within 2019. And by when they expect to be fully compliant with the norms. Don’t forget to subscribe for more latest news. And share it with your friends.
The post WhatsApp yet to comply with data localisation norms: RBI appeared first on Telugu Tech World.
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