Reliance Industries has apparently partnered with major tech giants Facebook and Google, along with a fintech based firm Infibeam to setup a national digital payment network, as per sources close to the matter.
According to an EconomicTimes report (Via Reuters), three unnamed sourced have revealed that the Indian conglomerate and Infibeam were in advanced stages of submitting their proposal for a digital payment service to the nation’s central bank, Reserve Bank of India (RBI). For those unaware, RBI invited various companies to make a new umbrella entities (NUE) to create payment networks that would rival the system operated by the National Payments Council of India (NPCI).
Unfortunately, a spokesperson for Infibeam has declined to comment on the report at the moment, adding that the company was bound by confidentiality of process. Meanwhile, Reliance, Google, and even Facebook have yet to respond on the matter. Furthermore, Facebook and Google are already partnered with the Indian giant and also own stakes in Jio Platforms, Reliance’s unit that runs the company’s music, movie and telecom services.
Notably, RBI extended the deadline for all partners to submit NUE applications until 31st March 2021 from 26th February 2021 earlier this week. Additionally, the central bank of the country is expected to take another six months to study all the proposals that are being submitted, and is not expected to give more than two new “for-profit” NUE licenses. Similar to the aforementioned brands, RBI has also declined to comment on the matter as well.
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