The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) lifted restrictions imposed on Mastercard Asia/ Pacific Pte Ltd., regarding on-boarding new domestic customers, with immediate effect.
Per the RBI circular on Storage of Payment System Data dated April 6, 2018, all system providers were directed to ensure that within six months the full end-to-end transaction details relating to payment systems operated by them, were stored in a server physically present in the country.
They were also required to report compliance to the RBI and submit a board-approved system audit report conducted by a CERT-In approved auditor within the timelines specified. (Cert-In is India’s Computer Emergency Response Team, a government-mandated IT security organization.)
RBI had given Mastercard almost three years to comply with the regulatory directions, but it was unable to complete the process. So the central bank imposed restrictions on the company from on-boarding new domestic customers (debit, credit or prepaid) from July 22, 2021.
Mastercard welcomed lifting of the ban. A spokesperson for the company said, “We take great pride in being able to contribute to the government’s vision of a Digital India and will continue to invest in the country’s future with the same passion and dedication that we always have.”
Last updated: December 26th, 2025
