FM Sitharaman stresses on compliance of norms at meet with fintech heads

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday held a meeting with the heads of several fintech companies and startups during which she emphasised the need for strict adherence to official regulations and giving paramount importance to the protection of consumer interests, a senior official confirmed.

The meeting, which took place in the backdrop of the RBI action against Paytm Payments Bank, was attended by representatives of fintech firms such as Google Pay, PhonePe, Amazon Pay and RazorPay, as well as top officials of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).

Top government officials who attended the meeting included Financial Services Secretary Vivek Joshi, DPIIT Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh, MeitY (Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology) Secretary S. Krishnan, and RBI Deputy Governor T. Rabi Sankar, among others.

While the government has made it clear that there can be no compromise over the compliance to regulatory norms, it has also given the assurance that the fintech sector is seen as playing a key role in the Indian economy and various steps have been taken to nurture the ecosystem of these entities.

The RBI had barred Paytm Payments Bank Ltd (PPBL) from accepting deposits after February 29. However, this date was extended to March 15 “keeping in view the interest of customers (including merchants) of PPBL who may require a little more time to make alternative arrangements and the larger public interest", the RBI said.

“No further deposits or credit transactions or top ups shall be allowed in any customer accounts, prepaid instruments, wallets, FASTags, National Common Mobility Cards, etc. after March 15, 2024 other than any interest, cashbacks, sweep in from partner banks or refunds which may be credited anytime,” the RBI order said.

However, the RBI has also advised NPCI to examine the possibility of migrating the users from PPBL to some other banks so that consumers do not suffer due to an abrupt disruption.