RBI imposes penalties on 3 payment system operators

New Delhi: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed penalties on payment system operators Visa Worldwide, Ola Financial Services and Manappuram Finance for deficiencies in regulatory compliance.

A penalty of Rs 2.4 crore has been imposed on Visa Worldwide Pte Limited and Rs 41.5 lakh on Manappuram Finance Limited.

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A fine of Rs 87.55 lakh has been slapped on Ola Financial Services in two cases.

The RBI said monetary penalty on Payment System Operators (PSOs) Manappuram Finance and Ola Financial Services has been imposed for non-compliance with certain provisions of Know Your Customer (KYC) directions.

Compounding orders were also issued to two Ola Financial Services and Visa Worldwide for contravention of certain provisions.

Giving details, the Reserve Bank of India said it was observed that Visa Worldwide Pte Limited had implemented a payment authentication solution without regulatory clearance from the central bank.

Accordingly, notice was issued to it, advising it to show cause as to why a penalty should not be imposed for non-compliance with the directions.

Visa Worldwide, in its response, had filed an application for compounding of the violation.

After analysing the compounding application and oral submissions made during the personal hearing, the RBI determined that the contravention could be compounded.

Manappuram Finance Limited and Ola Financial Services were non-compliant with the directions issued by the RBI on KYC requirements, the central bank said.

In these cases also notices were issued.

Penalties were imposed after considering their written responses and the oral submissions.

Further, the RBI said Ola Financial Services had also reported instances of shortfall in the balance in its escrow account and filed an application for compounding of the violation.

After analysing the compounding application and oral submissions made during the personal hearing, the RBI determined that Ola Financial Services' contravention can be compounded.

“Visa respects and abides by the compliance guidelines, regulations and local laws across the countries we operate in. We duly acknowledge the RBI order and remain committed to following RBI guidelines and regulations to continue providing safe and secure payment solutions in India,” Visa said in an official statement.

The central bank also said the penalties are based on deficiencies in regulatory compliance and are not intended to be pronounced upon the validity of any transaction or agreement entered into by the entity with its customers.

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