RBI rejects pleas from mobile wallet entities for less stringent KYC rules

Players say users, especially blue-collar and similar category workers, find rules too strict; however, central bank declines sector request

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has turned down a request from mobile wallet entities for less stringent Know Your Customer (KYC) rules.

A few weeks earlier, major companies in this segment and in financial technology, along with senior members of the sectoral body, Payments Council of India (PCI), met RBI officials. They requested that if a general relaxation was not possible, it could be considered for at least transactions less than Rs 10,000 a month. Source say RBI would have none of it.

Those in the sector say the infrastructure needed for the full KYC process is yet to be rolled