Overview
- In a letter dated September 25, the Reserve Bank of India said Simpl was operating a system involving payment, clearing and settlement without a Certificate of Authorisation under the PSS Act, 2007, and directed an immediate stop.
- The directive cites Section 4 of the law, which bars any entity from running a payment system without approval, and it explicitly classifies Simpl’s checkout product as a payment system.
- Founder-CEO Nitya Sharma confirmed receipt of the notice, said the company is seeking clarification, and stated the RBI action is not connected to the Enforcement Directorate case.
- The Enforcement Directorate in July filed a FEMA case alleging foreign exchange violations of about ₹913.75 crore involving Simpl and Sharma, a separate proceeding from the RBI order.
- Simpl, a BNPL intermediary with roughly 7 million users and about 26,000 merchant partners after raising around $83 million, faces disruption risk and an uncertain path to licensing or other remediation.