RBI imposes penalty of Rs 3.06 crore on Amazon Pay (India) for violation of norms

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday has imposed monetary penalty of Rs 3.06 crore on Amazon Pay (India) Private Limited for non-compliance with directions on prepaid payment instruments and Know Your Customer (KYC) rules. Amazon Pay is an online payments processing service owned by Amazon.com Inc. The firm was recently granted payment aggregator licence by RBI along with 31 other entitites.

"RBI has imposed monetary penalty of ₹3,06,66,000/- (Rupees three crore six lakh sixty six thousand only) on Amazon Pay (India) Private Limited (the entity) for non-compliance with certain provisions of the Master Directions on Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPIs) dated August 27, 2021 and the Master Direction – Know Your Customer (KYC) Direction, 2016 dated February 25, 2016," said the banking regulator in a statement.

RBI said the penalty has been imposed under Section 30 of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007. "This action is based on deficiencies in regulatory compliance and is not intended to pronounce upon the validity of any transaction or agreement entered into by the entity with its customers," said RBI.

RBI said the company was found to be non-compliant with the directions issued by RBI on KYC requirements. Accordingly, notice was issued to the entity advising it to show cause as to why penalty should not be imposed for non-compliance with the directions.

"After considering the entity’s response, RBI concluded that the aforesaid charge of non-compliance with RBI directions was substantiated and warranted imposition of monetary penalty," said the banking regulator.

An Amazon spokesperson said the company remains committed to operating as per regulatory guidelines and maintaining compliance.

"We continue to work closely with the authorities to share our commitment with them," the spokesperson said.