Why in the news ?
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The Central bank (RBI) has asked payment system players to adhere to the October 15 deadline for storing data locally.
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This, after some of them sought an extension during a recent meeting with top central bank officials.
More in the news
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The central bank could also initiate action against those which do not comply with the instructions that were announced in April.
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In April, RBI had asked all players to ensure that the entire data relating to payment systems operated are stored in a system only in India.
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The data should include the full end-to-end transaction details.
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It should also include information collected, carried and processed as part of the message or payment instruction.
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Payment system players were given six months’ time, which ends on October 15, to comply with the guidelines.
Compliance
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Industry sources estimate that 80% of the payments companies have already complied, which makes it imperative for the rest to follow suit.
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In addition to Indiabased PhonePe and Paytm, the payments arms of global giants like WhatsApp, Amazon and Alibaba have also adhered to RBI’s diktat.
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Payments networks Visa and Mastercard have started work on hosting data locally.
Background
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With digital payments growing in leaps and bounds, the need for storing the data being generated within the country has assumed paramount importance.
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Earlier in July the finance ministry had recommended the central bank issue a clarificatory circular on data storage norms.
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Bankers said such a move would also help create new jobs as it will require many analysts and data specialists to process the stored data.
Source
The Hindu, Economic Times.