Mastercard was ordered by the Indian authorities to stop issuing new cards to customers in India. The ban was announced by the officials on Wednesday, July 14.
Why India banned Mastercard from taking in new customers
Mastercard will not be allowed to grant new cards to anyone in India. Based on the reports, the authorities imposed the ban because the officials said the American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in New York violated some rules in the country. The policy that was allegedly violated was related to how Mastercard stores data.
The Indian authorities ordered the financial company to refrain from issuing credit cards, debit cards, and even prepaid cards starting next Thursday, July 22. This directive has been confirmed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
While it was indicated when the order was set to start, there was no mention of when the restrictions on Mastercard would be lifted. What is certain for now is that the central bank in India imposed the restriction and it will be in effect for an indefinite time.
“The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has today imposed restrictions on Mastercard Asia/Pacific Pte. Ltd. (Mastercard) from on-boarding new domestic customers (debit, credit or prepaid) onto its card network from July 22, 2021,” Yogesh Dayal, RBI’s chief general manager, said in a press release. “Notwithstanding the lapse of considerable time and adequate opportunities being given, the entity has been found to be non-compliant with the directions on Storage of Payment System Data.”
Mastercard’s response to the allegation and order
The Reserve Bank of India alleged that Mastercard violated the country’s data storage laws. The American firm was said to have failed to comply with rules that require foreign card issuers to store data on Indian payments exclusively in India.
CNN Business contacted Mastercard to ask about the issue in India and it has refused to share the number of its customers in the country. Then again, the company said that the ban has no effect on its current operations in India. It added that the firm is fully committed to “legal and regulatory obligations in the markets we operate in."
"While we are disappointed with the stance taken, we will continue to work with them and provide any additional details needed to resolve their concerns," Mastercard stated.


Trump Criticizes ABC, NBC and CNN for Limiting Coverage of Election Speech
ECB's Kocher Says No Inflation Spillover Yet From Iran Conflict, Warns Risks Remain
Eli Lilly Eyes AtaiBeckley Acquisition to Expand Psychedelic Mental Health Pipeline
Moonshot Launches Kimi K3, China's Largest Open-Source AI Model
Asian Currencies Hold Steady as Middle East Tensions Offset Weaker US Dollar
AI Chip Stocks Face Valuation Pressure as Investors Shift Toward Big Tech and Software
Brent Oil Jumps 16% for Best Week Since April as US-Iran Conflict Fuels Supply Fears
Brazil Weighs IP Curbs, Patent Suspensions After New U.S. Tariffs
Volvo Cars Q2 Profit Falls as Automaker Bets on EX60 EV to Drive Recovery
IEA Warns China Rare Earth Export Curbs Could Threaten $6.5 Trillion in Global Production
PayPal Rejects $53 Billion Stripe-Advent Takeover Offer as Too Low: Report
Apple Intelligence Cleared for China as Alibaba and Baidu AI Power iPhone Features
US Stock Futures Fall as Netflix Outlook, Chip Selloff and Iran Tensions Weigh on Markets
Jamie Dimon Warns Anthropic's Mythos AI Poses National Security Risks
xAI Sues Man for Allegedly Using Grok to Generate AI Child Abuse Deepfakes
Netflix Stock Drops After Weak Q3 Outlook Overshadows Mixed Q2 Earnings 



