RBI tweaks norms for imposing penalties on payment system operators

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday tweaked the norms for imposing penalties on payment system operators for not complying with regulatory requirements, with a view to ensure safety and security to various stakeholders, including customers.

The payment system landscape has witnessed rapid developments since then with increased adoption of technology, availability of payment products, entry of more nonbank players, dis-intermediation, and significant surge in turnover, among others.

"To ensure that the payment systems are safe and secure and the various stakeholders conform to regulatory requirements, on review it has been decided to revise the process of levy of penalty on payment system operators by the Reserve Bank of India," the RBI said while issuing the revised framework.

The amount of monetary penalty would vary depending on the impact on account of various factors.

"The amount of monetary penalty for a contravention shall not exceed Rs 5 lakh or double the amount of contravention, whichever is higher, where such amount is quantifiable," it said.

For non-quantifiable contravention, the maximum penalty shall be Rs 5 lakh per contravention.