RBI warns tech firms against unauthorised trading platforms on app stores

Updated central bank alert list names 56 entities prohibited from dealing in foreign exchange

Technology companies have to be cautious about unauthorised electronic trading platforms (ETPs) available for download despite being on the central bank’s alert list, said Reserve Bank of India (RBI) deputy governor Michael Patra on Thursday.

“We (the RBI) interact closely with enforcement agencies, ministries such as the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. Action is being taken on an ongoing basis as various platforms are being raided, and their assets are seized,” he said at a press briefing that followed the central bank's monetary policy meeting.

The RBI’s alert list was updated on Wednesday and it names 56 entities prohibited from dealing in foreign exchange under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA) or the Electronic Trading Platforms (Reserve Bank) Directions, 2018.

QFX Markets, 2WinTrade, Guru Trade7 Limited, Bric Trade, Rubik Trade, Dream Trade, Mini Trade, and Trust Trade are unauthorised trading platforms to be newly included entrants in the updated alert list.

The list also includes download URLs of the unauthorised entities. This is of significance because experts have said taking down unauthorised trading platforms was difficult if such URLs were unavailable.

The RBI also lists platforms that have its authorisation to run transactions in eligible instruments such as securities, money market instruments, foreign exchange instruments, derivatives, or other instruments of similar nature, specified under the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.

People using unauthorised platforms are exposed to risks such as fraud, financial loss, data leak, misuse, theft, and cyber-attacks. The RBI has warned users against operating on such platforms as they shall render themselves liable for penal action under FEMA.