WhatsApp sets up system to store payments data locally as per RBI norm

New Delhi: Messaging platform WhatsApp said it has set up a system in India that stores payments-related data locally in the country to comply with RBI regulations.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in a circular dated April 6, had said all system providers shall ensure that the entire data relating to payment systems operated by them are stored in a system only in India. It had given time till October 15 to comply with the mandate.
“In India, almost one million people are testing WhatsApp payments to send money to each other in a simple and secure way. In response to India’s payments data circular, we’ve built a system that stores payments-related data locally in India,” a WhatsApp spokesperson said.
The spokesperson added that the company hopes to expand the feature across India soon, so that it can “contribute to the country’s financial inclusion goals”.
RBI, in its April order, had said it is important to have “unfettered supervisory access to data stored with these system providers as also with their service providers/intermediaries/third party vendors and other entities in the payment ecosystem” to ensure better monitoring of payment service operators.
RBI further said data should include the full end-to-end transaction details, information collected/carried/ processed as part of the message/payment instruction.