India’s central bank is scrutinizing several digital wallets associated with electric vehicle players after the country’s largest all-EV taxi service suddenly collapses.
Reviews of payment tools used in India’s fledgling EV ecosystem are the result of the troubles faced by users of digital wallets from the app-based ride hailing service Blusmart. The event, triggered by allegations of fraud against the company, loaded money into what is known as closed-loop wallets, highlighting the lack of safeguards for users who trade on apps that include EV-related services such as bookings for Lidos and using charging stations.
The Reserve Bank of India is launching informal consultations with EV charging point operators and other app-based EV platforms to assess the risks of potential consumers, said those who asked not to identify the issue as private.
So-called closed-loop wallets, an app-based payment system that can only be used within a single platform, are growing in India’s fast-growing digital services ecosystem. Unlike open systems wallets regulated by the RBI, these are not directly monitored by the central bank and become vulnerable in the event of a platform failure.
