Govt moves to dilute RBI's data storage rules for foreign payment firms

Global payment firms currently store and process Indian transactions outside the country

India's finance ministry has proposed relaxing a directive from the country's central bank that would compel global payment firms to store customer data only locally, following weeks of intense lobbying by US companies and trade bodies.

Easing the proposal would be a relief for firms including MasterCard, Visa and American Express, which fear India's data onshoring move could cost them millions of dollars and set a precedent for other major governments to implement similar rules at a time when there is heightened scrutiny of how companies globally handle their customers' data.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been aggressively pushing digital and cashless