Entire payment data must be stored only in India: RBI

Mumbai, June 26

The RBI on Wednesday said all data related to payments must be stored only in India and data processed abroad will have to be brought back to the country within 24 hours.

“The entire payment data shall be stored in systems located only in India...,” the RBI said in its FAQs on certain implementation issues raised by the Payment System Operators (PSOs).

The RBI had issued a directive in April 2018 on ‘Storage of Payment System Data’. It had advised all system providers to ensure that within a period of six months, the entire data relating to payment systems operated by them is stored in a system only in India.

The FAQs said there is no bar on processing of payment transactions outside India if so desired by the PSOs.

“However, the data shall be stored only in India after the processing. The complete end-to-end transaction details should be part of the data,” the RBI said.

In case the processing is done abroad, “the data should be deleted from the systems abroad and brought back to India not later than the one business day or 24 hours from payment processing, whichever is earlier”.

Last week, the issue of data localisation was raised by several e-commerce firms during their meetings with Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal. — PTI 

Bring data back in 24 hours: Central Bank

• The RBI rules led to lobbying from the US and American companies who said the 2018 directive would increase infrastructure costs and hurt firms’ investment plans. A request to dilute the rules was declined last year
• The RBI stuck to its position but clarified that in case payment processing is done abroad, data should be deleted there and brought back to India within 24 hours