Lok Sabha Polls: RBI urges payment firms to track high value, suspicious transactions amid elections

The Reserve Bank of India has asked all non-bank Payment System Operators (PSOs) to report high value or suspicious transaction during the course of the Lok Sabha elections. The polls is underway and will end on June 1 with results on June 4.

“Various electronic modes of payments have the potential to be used for transfer of money to influence the voters or to fund the candidates participating in the elections (General elections to Lok Sabha and Legislative Assemblies of Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Odissa and Sikkim, 2024),” the RBI said in an April 15 letter to non-bank PSOs.

Advise to PSOs

In the letter as reviewed by Moneycontrol, the RBI had also mentioned that the Election Commission of India has raised concern in this regard and suggested that suitable action, as required, may be taken.

The PSOs will have to report such transaction to the appropriate authority or agencies as per the poll panels guidelines.

PSOs are intermediaries between buyers and sellers in online transactions who facilitate, process and settle payments. They include, payment gateways, aggregators, payment apps and card networks.

ECI's order on transaction

The Election Commission of India has asked the banks to submit daily reports on any suspicious transactions during the poll season. The Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar has also said that the banks will have to see if there is huge demand in the currency chests.

“NPCI will look at whether there are more demands for payments through wallets. We will be looking at all wallet transactions. Banks will be sending almost daily reports of suspicious transactions. This is part of the steps from the poll body to curb the impact of money power and ensure fair elections," he said.

The movement of cash in bank vehicles is restricted after sunset and the Income Tax Department, Pune has setup a control room to monitor and curb the misuse of money.

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