Reserve Bank of India warns against evading validation in CNP payments

MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank has clamped down on the entities evading the mandatory additional authentication process where payments are made by customers for a service via 'Card Not Present' ( CNP) transactions.

Various e-commerce and Interactive Voice Response transactions come under such payments. It also applies to all transactions using cards issued in India for payments on merchant sites even where there is no outflow of foreign exchange.

In a notification, RBI said: "It is advised that entities adopting such practices leading to wilful non-adherence and violation of extant instructions should immediately put a stop to such arrangements.

"It is also observed that these entities are evading the mandate of additional authentication/validation by following business/payment models which are resulting in foreign exchange outflow."

RBI has clarified that the linkage to an overseas website/ payment gateway cannot be done via CNP transaction.

RBI said it was brought to its notice that certain CNP transactions were taking place without additional validation.

It said such camouflaging and flouting of extant instructions on card security were resulting in an outflow of foreign exchange in the settlement of these transactions.

The apex bank said that it is not acceptable as this is in violation of the directives issued under the Payment and Settlement Systems.

It said such transactions have to be through a bank in India and the transaction should necessarily settle only in Indian currency.