The statement comes after RBI introduced new guidelines for recurring payments in October which made it mandatory for subscribers to renew standing instructions for services they have opted for. RBI also said all payments above Rs 5,000 should adopt an additional layer of authentication.
“For SaaS businesses where you have to have customers’ credit cards on file, there is some improvement that we could do with RBI payment infrastructure. The rules are not helping SaaS companies,” Mathrubootham said at the Nasscom Product Conclave.
The RBI’s primary objective in adopting the new framework is to protect consumers from fraudulent transactions and enhance convenience by allowing them to opt out of services more easily. The rules have, however, impacted tech and startup firms that rely on regular payments from subscribers.
“I know the rules exist for a reason and to protect consumers from fraud, but maybe we should have a whitelist of good companies that are allowed to build their businesses,” Mathrubootham said.
He added that the Indian SaaS ecosystem has done well to convince venture capital investors to back startups, while both the central as well as state governments have recognised startups and come out with policies to promote them.
