The Reserve Bank of India on Wednesday lifted the business restrictions it had placed on American Express Banking Corp. Ltd. last year. The global card network can now issue credit cards to new customers in India.
On April 23, 2021, the regulator had put a bar on new customer additions at American Express owing to non-compliance with the regulator's data storage norms. The RBI's data storage norms, introduced in April 2018, require that all payment system operators active in India, store payments related data only domestically.
The RBI decision enables American Express to onboard new customers effective immediately, Interim CEO Sanjay Khanna said in an emailed statement. "American Express’ ability to deliver best in class value and customer experiences will enable us to meet the increasing demand for premium products and services and grow our business in India," he said.
As of June, American Express had 13.6 lakh credit cards active in India, compared with 15 lakh credit cards in April 2021 when the restrictions were announced.
The regulator had also barred Mastercard Inc. and Diners Club International Ltd. from adding new customers on the same non-compliance with data storage norms. However, the restrictions on Diners Club had been removed in November 2021, while Mastercard was freed from the restrictions in June.
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