CBI Ordered to Rewrite PSP Rules

EghtesdaOnline: The Competition Council has required the CBI to rewrite its regulatory requirements per which banks must own at least 51% of the shares of payment service providers.

News ID: ۷۵۲۲۳۱

07 February 2023

The Competition Council has ordered the Central Bank of Iran to revise regulations for licensing payment service provider companies to ease the entry of new players in the market and improve competitiveness, the head of the Iran Fintech Association said.

"Following Fintech Association's complaint against the CBI for monopolizing the payment services market, the council has ordered the CBI to remove the regulatory hurdles for launching PSP companies that have led to a [de facto] monopoly," Mehdi Fatemian was quoted as saying by the way2pay webiste.

Twelve PSPs have CBI license to operate in the domestic market. The central bank’s stringent regulations for setting up a PSP have so far disallowed the emergence of new players in the lucrative market.