NEW DELHI: WhatsApp on Wednesday informed the Supreme Court that it is on the verge of complying with all the norms and requirements stipulated by Reserve Bank of India and National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and expected to get regulators' nod to start WhatsApp Payments soon.
A PIL by 'Good Governance Chambers' sought a direction from a bench of CJI S A Bobde and Justices Indu Malhotra and Hrishikesh Roy to restrain WhatsApp Payments from starting operations in India without complying with each and every condition stipulated by RBI and NPCI.
Appearing for WhatsApp, senior advocate Kapil Sibal said that there are petitions already pending on this issue in the SC, which had refused to grant any interim stay. Sibal said WhatsApp Payment will not commence operation without getting all necessary clearances from RBI and NPCI. He told TOI that most of the issues raised by regulatory authorities have been resolved and that WhatsApp is expecting to be fully compliant to get the nod by May 30 to enter the payment business.
The bench issued notice to the Centre, WhatsApp and Facebook and sought their response within three weeks. However, it clarified that "there will be no stay of the proceedings with respect to the application of WhatsApp Payment by the Government, which shall be processed in accordance with law."
Facebook, which acquired WhatsApp six years ago, through counsel Arvind Datar questioned the locus standi of the PIL petitioner and said it was not maintainable when WhatsApp is giving an undertaking that the payment app would not be functional without meeting each and every norm and regulation stipulated by the concerned authorities.
Sibal said that the PIL appears to have an ulterior motive as it was filed after Facebook recently announced to invest Rs 43,574 crore in Jio Platforms Ltd, a deal which has global consequences. WhatsApp wants to start payment app partnering Jio to enter the market and compete with Google Pay, Paytm, PhonePe and Amazon Pay.
A PIL by 'Good Governance Chambers' sought a direction from a bench of CJI S A Bobde and Justices Indu Malhotra and Hrishikesh Roy to restrain WhatsApp Payments from starting operations in India without complying with each and every condition stipulated by RBI and NPCI.
Appearing for WhatsApp, senior advocate Kapil Sibal said that there are petitions already pending on this issue in the SC, which had refused to grant any interim stay. Sibal said WhatsApp Payment will not commence operation without getting all necessary clearances from RBI and NPCI. He told TOI that most of the issues raised by regulatory authorities have been resolved and that WhatsApp is expecting to be fully compliant to get the nod by May 30 to enter the payment business.
The bench issued notice to the Centre, WhatsApp and Facebook and sought their response within three weeks. However, it clarified that "there will be no stay of the proceedings with respect to the application of WhatsApp Payment by the Government, which shall be processed in accordance with law."
Facebook, which acquired WhatsApp six years ago, through counsel Arvind Datar questioned the locus standi of the PIL petitioner and said it was not maintainable when WhatsApp is giving an undertaking that the payment app would not be functional without meeting each and every norm and regulation stipulated by the concerned authorities.
Sibal said that the PIL appears to have an ulterior motive as it was filed after Facebook recently announced to invest Rs 43,574 crore in Jio Platforms Ltd, a deal which has global consequences. WhatsApp wants to start payment app partnering Jio to enter the market and compete with Google Pay, Paytm, PhonePe and Amazon Pay.
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