Google to no longer save your payment card details: Know what happens from 2022

Google will no longer save payment card details in compliance with the new RBI regulations and guidelines.

Google can still store your card details in accordance with the RBI guidelines and the users' consent in a certain format. (AP)

Google will no longer save your payment card details starting January 1, 2022. All future payments for buying Google One subscriptions and other products via the Google Play will now require you to put your card details everytime you want to make a transaction. This change comes as Google's compliance to the new RBI guidelines that go into effect from January 1.

The new RBI guidelines require all payment gateways and payment aggregators to remove all saved card details on online servers. The RBI says that other card issues and card networks, no merchant or entity can story card details, or card-on-file data from January 2021. This law applies to every payment aggregator, which includes Google, RuPay, American Express and others.

Google and others cannot save your card details

For consumers, this could be a hassle; especially for those who frequently make purchases online and use the saved card data to make transactions quickly. “With effect from January 1, 2022, no entity in the card transaction or payment chain, other than the card issuers and card networks, should store the actual card data. Any such data stored previously will be purged,” says the RBI's circular.

However, note that this has nothing to do with your UPI-based payments. Hence, you can continue to make payments via Google Pay and other UPI apps the normal way after January 1, 2022. The new rules will apply only when you make a transaction online via your debit/credit card. Most users doing the same via Google Chrome or via an Android phone were usually required to fill only the CVC number.

Now, consumers will have put all the card details manually every time the make a transaction.

However, not all hope is lost. Google can still store your card details in accordance with the RBI guidelines and the users' consent in a certain format. In order to continue using the same Visa or Mastercard issued debit or credit card to make payments after December 31, 2021, users will need to re-enter their card details and then make at least one purchase or manual payment before 2021 ends.

“If you don't do so, your card will no longer appear in your account, and you'll have to re-enter your card details to use it again,” the company added.