India, Sept. 26 -- Simpl In RBI's Crosshairs

Simpl is grappling with an existential crisis. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has directed the buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) platform to cease all payment-related operations. So, why did the RBI crack down on Simpl?

The Regulatory Strike: As per the company, the RBI determined that Simpl's business model constituted a "payment, clearing, and settlement" system. As the startup does not hold a licence under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, the regulator has ordered it to stop operations altogether.

In essence, RBI has now classified Simpl's BNPL-centric checkout tool as a payment system, making the platform liable for compliance with the central bank's payments licensing rules.

The Afterma...