There are a few reasons for the lack of clear guidelines and regulation of digital wallets in India:
1. Rapid Growth: The rapid growth of the digital wallet industry in India has outpaced regulation. As the market size of digital wallets in India grew quickly, there was a significant demand for digital payments solutions, and the regulators could not keep up with it, leading to a lack of clear guidelines.
2. Complex Regulatory Ecosystem: Digital wallets fall under the ambit of multiple regulators in India, including the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), and more. It has made the regulatory environment complex.
3. Technological Advances: The fast-paced innovation in technology, including new payment methods, features, and products, poses a challenge for regulators who must keep up with these changes.
4. Lack of Clarity on Jurisdiction: Digital wallets often offer services across state boundaries, and it is unclear which jurisdiction is responsible for regulating these services.
All of these factors have led to a lack of clear guidelines and regulation, which can have negative impacts such as fraud, money laundering, and cybercrime. The government of India has taken steps to address this issue, such as the introduction of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2017, which aims to regulate digital payments, and the RBI's recent guidelines for digital wallets. However, more work needs to be done to ensure that the regulatory framework in India keeps pace with the fast-paced growth of the digital wallet industry.