WhatsApp assures SC of not rolling out payment services till RBI's nod

WhatsApp Inc has assured the Supreme court that it will not roll out its payment services in India till the RBI gives its nod to do so.

New Delhi:WhatsApp today assured the Supreme Court that it won't start its payment services till the RBI gives its nod to do so. The Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice of India, SA Bobde, issued notice and gave 3 weeks of time to the central government, Facebook and Whatsapp to reply over the PIL which says that WhatsApp should not be allowed to roll its payment services as the RBI has not given its clearance to the app to do so.

"Mr. Kapil Sibal, learned Senior Counsel appearing for Respondent No. 3 - Whatsapp Inc, makes a statement on behalf of his client that they will not go ahead with the payments' scheme without complying with all the regulations in the force," observed the bench.

The order also clarified that pendency of the PIL will not come in the way of RBI granting permission to WhatsApp payment.

The bench was hearing a PIL filed by an NGO Good Governance Chambers which said that WhatsApp's payment service should be declared inconsistent with the Unified Payment Interface(UPI) as it hasn't offered a separate app for it. And till that changes, the app should not be allowed to continue its payment services, contended the PIL.