City
Epaper

Fears arise as WhatsApp plans Pay feature in India

By IANS | Updated: July 26, 2019 17:15 IST

As Facebook-owned WhatsApp announced launching its Payments service in India later this year, the fears of data privacy came back to the fore, with the government reportedly asking the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to ensure that users' data are not shared.

Open in App

The NPCI is an umbrella organization for all retail payments in India.

The RBI guidelines say that all digital payment firms such as WhatsApp, Google Pay and others must store data locally for their businesses in the country.

WhatsApp has said it is ready with its data localisation plans for its Pay service.

"In response to India's payments data circular, we've built a system that stores payments-related data locally in India," a WhatsApp spokesperson had told .

WhatsApp Global Head Will Cathcart on Thursday said its peer-to-peer, UPI-based Pay service for over 300 million users especially the small and medium businesses (SMBs) – will arrive in India sometimes later this year.

The country's largest digital payments wallet Paytm which will take the biggest hit refused to comment on the development on Friday.

However, Paytm which last reported 230 million users in India had made it clear that all payments data of the Indian users must be processed and stored only within the country and must not be allowed to go out of the country, not even for processing.

"It is important that we do not become mere Internet colonies for global companies and make every organisation accountable towards the security and privacy of data of our fellow countrymen," a Paytm spokesperson said recently.

This is a key matter of national interest, said Paytm, adding the government must discourage inappropriate use and transfer of data.

According to advocate Virag Gupta who represents Centre for Accountability and Systemic Change (CASC) and has taken WhatsApp to the court, Internet giants ought to comply with Indian laws, including the appointment of Grievance Officer in India and data localisation.

In the last hearing on May 3, WhatsApp told the Supreme Court that the company is conducting a trial run of its payment service and will fully comply with the RBI norms on data localisation.

Gupta, along with RSS member KN Govindacharya, filed a petition against Facebook and Google in the Delhi High Court in 2012.

"Overall, data is the new oil wherein India despite its biggest user base, hardly gets any value out of it. This is primarily because the Internet giants are not taxed properly in India," said Gupta.

( With inputs from IANS )

Tags: indiaPaytmRBIgoogle
Open in App

Related Stories

MumbaiMumbai: Gang Posing as Cops Loots Lakhs in Cash and Valuables From Home; 4 Arrested by Azad Maidan Police

MumbaiUniversity of Bristol Chooses Mumbai for Its First Overseas Campus, Set to Open in September 2026

NationalRaksha Bandhan 2025: Now You Can Send a Rakhi to Your Brother in India Post's Waterproof Envelope — Here's How to Track Your Parcel

NationalGold in Dubai Cheaper Than India: Pricing, Rules, and Import Limits Explained

NationalIndia Spends ₹1.38 Lakh Crore Annually on Edible Oil Imports

National Realted Stories

NationalECI to begin voter verification campaign in Bihar as draft electoral roll released

NationalOperation AKHAL: One Terrorist Killed in Ongoing Encounter With Security Forces in Jammu and Kashmir's Kulgam

NationalIndia-UN launch first phase of global capacity-building projects to boost South-South cooperation

NationalJammu and Kashmir Landslide: SDM Rajinder Singh Rana and Son Killed, Several Injured in Reasi

NationalDelhi Shooting: Shop Owner Shot Dead Near Nizamuddin Markaz