The Reserve Bank of India, on Monday, announced the opening of the first cohort under the regulatory sandbox with retail payments as the theme. Mobile payments, including feature phone-based payment services, offline payment solutions through mobile devices, and contactless payments are some of the innovative products and services that will be considered for inclusion under regulatory sandbox.

“The adoption of ‘retail payments’ as the theme is expected to spur innovation in digital payments space and help in offering payment services to the unserved and underserved segment of the population,” the RBI said in a statement, noting that digital modes of payments can cut down some of the cost associated with a cash economy while giving customers a “friction-free” experience.

Eligible entities can apply between November 15 and December 15 this year. “It may be noted that the live testing of new products or services in a controlled environment may require a bank, NBFC or any other partner for the testing to commence,” the RBI said, adding that in such cases, a suitable partner may be secured in advance to be eligible for admission to the regulatory sandbox.

The RBI had, in August this year, issued the final Enabling Framework for Regulatory Sandbox. Applicants can either be a company incorporated and registered in India, or banks licensed to operate in India. Further, financial institutions constituted under a statute in India are also eligible.

“The objective of the regulatory sandbox (RS) is to foster responsible innovation in financial services, promote efficiency and bring benefit to consumers,” it had noted. RS usually refers to live testing of new products or services in a controlled or test regulatory environment, for which regulators may (or may not) permit certain regulatory relaxations for the limited purpose of the testing.

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