Google Pay responds to Delhi HC notice on operating without authorisation
Google Pay has issued a statement and said that it works as a technology service provider to its partner banks, and is not part of processing or settlement of payment.
Google’s payment arm, Google Pay, came in the eye of controversy when the Delhi High Court on Wednesday asked the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) as to how the mobile payments app was facilitating financial transactions without authorisation.
Now, a Google spokesperson, responding to the public litigation at the Delhi High Court, which claimed that payments arm of the internet behemoth was operating in violation of the Payments and Settlements Act, has said,
“Google Pay complies with all applicable legal requirements. Google Pay operates as a technology service provider to its partner banks to allow for payments through the UPI infrastructure, and is not part of payment processing or settlement. There is no requirement for licensing of these services under the prevailing statutory and regulatory provisions.”
Also read: How is Google Pay operating without authorisation: Delhi HC asks RBI
After the hearing on Wednesday, the high court issued a notice to the RBI and Google India seeking their stand on the issue, which was raised in the PIL filed by Abhijit Mishra, who contended that Google Pay does not figure in RBI's list of authorised 'payment systems operators' released on March 20, 2019.
In addition, the spokesperson also said that Google was making efforts to comply with the government’s data localisation norms.
“In order to support our partner banks, our efforts in complying with the government's data localisation norms are underway, and given the scale and complexity, we are being mindful to prioritise data security and uninterrupted services to our users as we make this transition. The central bank is apprised of the progress and we remain committed to complying with the laws of the land,” said the Google spokesperson in his statement.
Abhijit had also raised a privacy concern in its petition stating that, “Google Pay, through its unauthorised operation in India as a payment and settlement systems, has un-monitored and unauthorised access to personal information of people such as Aadhaar, PAN, (financial) transactions, etc. of the public.”
Also read: Google Pay joins online gold rush, lets users buy 24-karat digital gold
