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by themacguffinman 2141 days ago
So is the Federal Reserve, so is the SEC, so is the IRS, so are all the financial reporting laws that require transactions to be reported to the US government for audit and regulation. I fail to see how NPCI is any different. The solutions won't be any different either: the government has laws restricting unregulated access to data and developers will implement access controls to enforce these laws.

The financial system in practically every country is already fully controlled by a central authority, and for good reason: finance is critical to national security and financial decisions are inherently political, therefore finance is controlled by political authorities.
1 comments
captn3m0 2141 days ago
You are wrong on one very important point: NPCI is a non-government entity. It is a not for profit corporation that acts as a conglomeration of banks. The government gets a day in it by 1. owning public sector banks and 2. By regulating it indirectly as RBI (which is itself quite autonomous).

It is more akin to a not for profit VISA than the Fed Reserve.

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themacguffinman 2141 days ago
> NPCI is a non-government entity

Fair correction. However, correct me if I'm wrong, it still plays the role of a singular national authority blessed by the central bank. I'm skeptical that its non-government status is an important distinction when it appears to be an exclusively Indian institution co-established by the RBI. I don't think Visa's status is quite the same: Visa has actual competitors and operates under many foreign jurisdictions. I'd say the NPCI is as trustworthy and protected as the government institutions that bless it.

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captn3m0 2141 days ago
Yeah, the VISA comparison isn’t apt either. Maybe if VISA had a higher market share.

The RBI initiated process to setup a parallel body to NPCI, but that will take eons in fintech time.

The non-government status is important because the NPCI fought a case (and won) to keep it out of the ambit of the Right yo Information act. It is an opaque institution with a government granted monopoly that is also simultaneously a cartel of sorts.

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