Section 15 of The Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007
- (1)Subject to the provisions of sub-section (2), any document or information obtained by the Reserve Bank under sections 12 to 14 (both inclusive) shall be kept confidential.
- (2)Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), the Reserve Bank may disclose any document or information obtained by it under sections 12 to 14 (both inclusive) to any person to whom the disclosure of such document or information is considered necessary for protecting the integrity, effectiveness or security of the payment system, or in the interest of banking or monetary policy or the operation of the payment systems generally or in the public interest.
Summary
- Generally, any document or information the Reserve Bank gets must be kept secret.
- However, there are important exceptions where the Reserve Bank can share this info.
- They can share it if it is necessary to protect the safety or effectiveness of the payment system.
- They can also share it if it helps banking policy, monetary policy, or the general public interest.
Practical examples
FAQ
1. Can the Reserve Bank share info to help the economy?
Yes, they can disclose it if it is in the interest of banking or monetary policy.
2. Who decides if information should be shared in the "public interest"?
The law gives the Reserve Bank the power to make that determination.
Test yourself
Q1.Under Section 15 of The Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007, info obtained under which other sections is generally kept confidential?
Q2.Under Section 15 of The Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007, if the Reserve Bank gets a report under Section 12, when can they legally disclose it?
Q3.If an officer collects documents during an inspection under Section 14, does Section 15 of The Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007, allow this info to be shared for "public interest"?
Q4.According to Section 15 of The Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007, which policy area allows the Reserve Bank to disclose confidential info?