New Delhi/IBNS: One97 Communications Limited, the parent company of Paytm, has received the green light from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to onboard new users for its Unified Payments Interface (UPI) platform.
The approval was communicated to stock exchanges on Tuesday (Oct. 22).
This approval follows a suspension imposed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) earlier in 2024, which had halted the onboarding of new users.
The company received a letter from NPCI on Tuesday, October 22, 2024, informing it of the decision.
As per NPCIs guidelines, One97 Communications must adhere to specific procedures and protocols as it resumes onboarding activities.
The NPCIs decision came in response to a request made by Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Founder and CEO of One97 Communications, on August 1, 2024.
Sharma had appealed for the lifting of restrictions placed by the RBIs directives issued on January 31 and February 16, 2024, which had temporarily suspended new user registrations.
However, this approval comes with several conditions.
One97 Communications is required to strictly follow NPCIs guidelines and circulars, including compliance with risk management protocols, brand guidelines for the app and QR codes, multi-bank regulations, market share restrictions for Third-Party Application Providers (TPAP), and proper handling of customer data.
Additionally, the company must adhere to the terms outlined in its tri-partite agreement with NPCI and Payment Service Provider (PSP) banks.
Paytm is also expected to comply with all relevant regulations, such as the Payments and Settlement Act of 2007, the Information Technology Act of 2000, the Digital Personal Data Protection Act of 2023, and NPCIs 2018 circular on payment system data storage.
The NPCIs approval arrives at a crucial time for Paytm, as the company aims to solidify its standing in the increasingly competitive UPI market.
