Merchants hit by revision in payment norms form an alliance

Hit by a revision in payment norms by the RBI, online merchants like Netflix, Facebook and Future Generali on Tuesday announced the formation of a grouping to take up common causes.

The changes on e-mandates effected by the RBI from October 1 are intended to make the ecosystem more robust but with only six banks complying with the revised norms, the preparedness of the banking sector is questionable and there is bound to be value erosion in the merchant-customer relationships as the latter face inconveniences, as per an official statement from the body.

The Merchant Payments Alliance of India (MPAI), which also has other members including Disney+Hotstar, Bookmyshow, Microsoft, Spotify, Times Internet and Zoom, will work towards such causes by addressing and constructively engaging with the payments regulator and industry.

"The MPAI sees itself as a collective, using the operational experience of merchants, to engage on policy matters such as the e-mandate issue, which will help reduce transaction-related frictions and improve the efficiency of digital markets," Vivan sharan from its secretariat, said.

The alliance will enhance the value of India's digital markets, provide public interest research and thought leadership on digital payments, and build consumer awareness, the statement said.

The MPAI statement said it also aspires to become a resource platform for merchants and the payments ecosystem to contribute to policy conversations involving matters that help reduce transaction-related frictions and improve digital markets' efficiency" while ensuring data protection and fraud prevention.

"The group's purpose is to be a collaborator to the digital payments policy discourse and Microsoft is excited to be part of this initiative, the American tech giant's Vishal Mehta said.

The alliance is open for memberships to merchants that use digital payments and align with the alliance's vision in India, the statement said.