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Is Google Pay not authorized by RBI? No! viral message is Fake
Google Pay and NCPI has clarified that the viral claim is false and Google Pay operates as UPI app that is recognized has a third party app, which does not require to be a ‘payment system operator’. The RBI’s official spokesperson has also refuted the viral claim.
An image showing the Governor of RBI, Shaktikanta Das warning users against using Google Pay is widely circulating on social media with the claim that Google Pay is not a recognized payment system operator by the Reserve Bank of India. The post says that ‘Google Pay’ is not an authorised payment system of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and the RBI has declared that the users cannot claim money if any issue arises during the payment.
The message in the viral image states, “Google Pay not payment system operators: RBI to Delhi HC. RBI declared that if any issue arises while transferring money through Google Pay, one cannot claim because it is not in the list of authorized payment system by National Payment Corporation of India (NCPI). Be cautious before using Google Pay. Any payment related issues or frauds due to Google Pay will be outside the purview of RBI. Just Beware.”
FACT CHECK-
We started our investigation by running a keyword search on Google, whose results led us to a news report published by the Economic Times on 20 June 2020 with the title, ‘Google Pay not a payment system operator: RBI to HC’.
Reportedly, the Reserve Bank of India told the Delhi High Court in June 2020 that Google Pay is a Third Party App Provider and does not operate any payment systems and its operations do not violate the law. It points to this as the reason for Google Pay not being on the NPCI’s list of authorised payment operators.
A report by India Today published on 21 June 2020 stated that “the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has told the Delhi High Court that Google Pay is a third party app provider (TPAP) and does not operate any payment systems.”
However, later they updated their story mentioning ‘The RBI statement has led to some confusion, so much so that some are believing that Google Pay is not legal in India or that doing transactions through it is risky. This is not accurate and now Google India has issued a long statement to clear the confusion.’
Next, we went through the list of NPCI’s authorized payment operators. We found that Google Pay is listed in the eighth position on NPCI’s website as a Unified Payments Interface (UPI) 3rd Party Apps.
Next, we found a clarification by Google Pay India on their Twitter account posted on 24 June 2020. They mentioned that they operate completely within the law. They work as a technology service provider to partner banks, to allow payments via UPI. UPI apps in the country are categorized as 'third party apps', and are not required to be 'payment systems operators'.
They have also mentioned that if case any users’ faces any issues related to their transactions they can reach out to Google Pay’s customer care and redressal processes laid out by the RBI and NPCI will protect them.
The National Payments Corporation of India issued a statement on their website regarding the viral claim. They mentioned that Google Pay is a classified Third Party App Provider (TPAP), which operates under the body's UPI framework.
The statement said, “We have come across some quotes on social media which suggest that transferring money through Google Pay is not protected by the law, since the app is unauthorised. RBI has authorised NPCI as a Payment System Operator (PSO) of UPI and NPCI in its capacity as PSO authorises all UPI participants. We would like to clarify that Google Pay is classified as Third Party App Provider (TPAP) that also provides UPI payment services like many others, working through banking partners and operating under the UPI framework of NPCI.”
Next, Fact Crescendo spoke with RBI’s official spokesperson Yogesh Dayal, who told us that the viral image to be False.
He said the claims made along with the image is not true, Google Pay is a part of the third party UPI apps under the NPCI.
CONCLUSION-
Fact Crescendo found the claim made along with the viral image to be False. We found that Google Pay falls under the third party apps that have been approved by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). Google Pay and NCPI have clarified that the viral claim is false and Google Pay operates as UPI app that is recognized as a third party app, which does not require being a ‘payment system operator’.
Title:Is Google Pay not authorized by RBI? No! viral message is Fake
Fact Check By: DrabantiGhoshResult: False
