Vodafone m-pesa's certificate of authorisation cancelled by RBI

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Tuesday cancelled the Certificate of Authorisation (CoA) of Vodafone m-Pesa Limited, Mumbai (earlier Mobile Commerce Solutions Ltd. was performing this activity). The certificate was cancelled on account of voluntary surrender of authorisation. With this, the telecom major cannot transact the business of issuance and operation of prepaid payment instruments.

RBI in its notification said, "The Reserve Bank of India, in the exercise of the powers conferred on it under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007, has cancelled the Certificate of Authorisation (CoA) of the below-mentioned Payment System Operator (PSO) on account of voluntary surrender of authorisation".

The central bank in its notification said, the customers or merchants having a valid claim on the company as a PSO can approach the company for settlement of their claims within three years from the date of cancellation, i.e. by September 30, 2022.

Vodafone's payment system operator (PSO), m-pesa, has voluntarily surrendered the authorisation. Last year, Vodafone Idea had decided to close m-pesa vertical following the closure of Aditya Birla Idea Payments Bank Ltd (ABIPBL), with which it was being merged.

Vodafone m-pesa was one of the 11 firms that were given payments bank licence by the RBI in 2015.

However, published reports suggest that Vodafone's mobile phone-based banking service m-pesa – launched in India in 2013 - had shut down its operations in India with effect from July 15, 2019. The operation was closed due to regulatory curbs and stress in the sector.

M-Pesa had brought financial and digital inclusion to more than 8.4 million people in India, according to data on the Vodafone website dated January 5, 2017.