The Delhi High Court on Wednesday asked the Reserve Bank of India how Google Pay was operating in India without its approval, PTI reported. The court was hearing a petition that claimed Google Pay had violated the Payments and Settlements Act as it did not figure in the RBI’s list of authorised payment system operators released on March 29. The petition also raised privacy concerns, claiming that Google Pay “has un-monitored and unauthorised access” to personal information such as Aadhaar and PAN numbers, and details of people’s financial transactions. The court issued notices to the RBI and Google India and said it would next hear the case on April 29. Note that the order hasn't been uploaded yet on the Delhi High Court website In response to the High Court notice, a Google spokesperson said Google Pay “operates as a technology service provider to its partner banks, to allow for payments through the UPI infrastructure, and is not part of payment processing or settlement”, the Economic Times reported. Does Google Pay need the RBI's approval? (Nikhil adds) The reason Google Pay is able to operate in India is that it has the approval of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), which runs UPI and approves and monitors all payment services in India. It is on the NPCI’s list of approved third-party apps for UPI transactions and has tie-ups with HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Federal Bank. If you look at the Payments and Settlements Act, 2007, it says: 4.…
