BENGALURU : Big tech platforms including BookMyShow, Disney+Hotstar, Facebook, Microsoft have come together to form a group called the Merchants Payments Alliance of India, to contribute to policy conversations on behalf of merchants, relating to matters of digital payments.

“Digital payments concern all of us as consumers. With the industry undergoing regulatory changes, there have to be discussions with respect to general standard setting which are important to address. Further, merchants are not regulated by the RBI and may find it harder to maneuver through these norms. Hence, it is important to form an alliance which provides a cohesive and constructive front,” said Sharan in an interaction with Mint.

“The group’s purpose is to be a collaborator to the digital payments policy discourse and Microsoft is excited to be part of this initiative. We look forward to engaging constructively with the regulators and the industry, and working towards supporting the larger goal of Digital India and consumer welfare,” said Vishal Mehta, strategic partnerships and payments, Microsoft, which is one of the founding members of MPAI. Other members of the alliance include Netflix, Zoom, and Spotify among others.