Mumbai,
All payment system operators in the country will henceforth be required to store data within India to ensure safety and security of users’ information, the RBI said on Thursday.

The operators will be given six months’ time to comply with the directive of the central bank. In recent times, the payment ecosystem in India has expanded considerably with the emergence of new payment systems, players and platforms.

“Ensuring the safety and security of payment systems data by adoption of the best global standards and their continuous monitoring and surveillance is essential to reduce the risks from data breaches while maintaining a healthy pace of growth in digital payments,” the RBI said in a statement on ‘Developmental and Regulatory Policies’.

The RBI further said at present “only certain” payment system operators and their outsourcing partners store the payment system data either partly or completely in the country.