Parliament’s standing committee of information technology will meet in New Delhi next week to review the security of digital payment gateways, which have received a big push after the government’s decision to demonetise high-value currency notes.
Concerns have been raised about the security of data on such platforms, with people turning to digital modes of payments due to the cash crunch.
Officials from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India and the IT ministries have been invited for a discussion at the standing committee meeting on January 5.
According to Hindustan Times, a member of panel told that they need to look into the checks and balances that are in place. They need to see if risks of digital payments have been adequately addressed.
The Prime Minister had sought time of 50 days — which ends on December 30 — to restore normalcy after demonetisation. In the meantime, the government has been encouraging digital, cashless transactions, which it feels will deliver long-term gains in the form of greater revenue for the government and curbing black money.
However, fraudulent withdrawal of money from accounts and misuse of payment gateways such as PayTM has set alarm bells ringing.
Some members of the committee are worried that these payment gateways may not have enough adequately prepared for the demonetisation decision and have exposed them self and customers to the risk of data misuse.
