Reply to plea over Google Pay: HC to RBI, payment app

New Delhi, April 10 (IANS) The Delhi High Court on Wednesday asked the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Google India Digital Services Private Limited to file a reply on the plea alleging Google Pay not being listed as an authorised operator as per a list of the 'Payment System Operators'.

A division bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani issued notice to the RBI and Google India Digital Services Private Limited on a PIL filed by Abhijit Mishra.

The petitioner has sought direction to the RBI to stop Google Pay operation in India.

He has requested the court to impose penalties on the Google India Digital Services Private Limited for unauthorised operation in India.

The petitioner in his plea said he is concerned with the welfare of Indian economic and banking system in the view of the privacy of Indian citizens.

He said that Google Pay is doing unauthorised operation in India as per the Payment and Settlement Systems in defiance of the Section 4 sub section 1 of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007, published by the Reserve Bank of India on March 20, 2019.

"Google Pay complies with all applicable legal requirements. Google Pay operates as a technology service provider to its partner banks, to allow payments through the UPI infrastructure, and is not part of payment processing or settlement," a Google spokesperson told IANS.

"There is no requirement for licensing of these services under the prevailing statutory and regulatory provisions. 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," the spokesperson added.