Paytm begins insurance for mobile wallets

Online marketplace major Paytm has said it would provide insurance cover for the money stored in its e-wallets.
 
Money lost due to fraudulent transactions as a result of theft, burglary, loss of device or unauthorised access to the user’s Paytm wallet will be refunded. This cover is at no additional cost.
 
The ministry of electronics and information technology (MeIT) had recommended to e-wallet and insurance entities to work in tandem in this regard. It had initiated talks in January this year.
 

“All customers will be insured up to a limit of ~ 20,000 or their wallet balance, whichever is lower. In case of phone loss or theft, the customer must report to Paytm via e-mail or by calling its customer care within 12 hours," the company said.

 
Paytm’s QR code-based payment solution is being used at a little more than five million establishments. With no cost of the point-of-service terminal and zero transaction charges, coupled with the vast Paytm user base, the company is acquiring almost a million merchants a month.
 
MeIT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad recently met a number of bankers and executives of mobile wallet companies to discuss ways of making digital transactions safer.
 
According to senior government officials, the ministry will play the role of a facilitator for the insurance cover, as mobile wallets are regulated by the Reserve Bank of India and insurance companies by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India.

 
A legal agency might be brought in to examine the concerns around digital payments and advise on a law.