NEW DELHI: The Reserve Bank of India has imposed penalties on three payment system operators, namely Visa Worldwide, Ola Financial Services, and Manappuram Finance, for the companies failure to adhere to regulatory compliance.
Visa Worldwide Pte Limited has been fined Rs 2.4 crore, while Manappuram Finance Limited has been penalized Rs 41.5 lakh. Ola Financial Services has been slapped with a fine of Rs 87.55 lakh in two separate cases.
According to the RBI, the monetary penalties on Manappuram Finance and Ola Financial Services were imposed for non-compliance with certain provisions of Know Your Customer (KYC) directions.Compounding orders were also issued to Ola Financial Services and Visa Worldwide for contravening specific provisions.
The RBI observed that Visa Worldwide Pte Limited had implemented a payment authentication solution without obtaining the necessary regulatory clearance from the central bank. Consequently, a notice was issued to the company, requiring it to provide an explanation as to why a penalty should not be imposed for non-compliance with the directions.
In response, Visa Worldwide filed an application for compounding the violation, which was determined to be compoundable by the RBI after analyzing the application and considering the oral submissions made during the personal hearing.
A spokesperson of Visa said that the company abides the acknowledged the order and that they abide by regulations and local laws across the countries.
“Visa respects and abides by the compliance guidelines, regulations and local laws across the countries we operate in. We duly acknowledge the RBI order and remain committed to following RBI guidelines and regulations to continue providing safe and secure payment solutions in India,” said Visa spokesperson.
Similarly, Manappuram Finance Limited and Ola Financial Services were found to be non-compliant with the RBI’s directions on KYC requirements.
Notices were issued to these entities as well, and penalties were imposed after considering their written responses and oral submissions. Additionally, the RBI said that Ola Financial Services reported instances of shortfall in its escrow account balance and filed an application for compounding the violation.
After analysing the compounding application and oral submissions made during the personal hearing, the RBI determined that Ola Financial Services’ contravention can be compounded.
The apex bank also said that the penalties are based on deficiencies in regulatory compliance and are not intended to be a pronouncement on the validity of any transaction or agreement entered into by the entities with their customers.
(With inputs from agencies)
