The payments industry in India is still trying to sort out the RBI's recurring payments problem.

RBI stopped making periodic payments in October. India's payment system is still being repaired.

After a directive from the banking regulator, the regulations for card-based recurring payments were amended seven months ago.

Even currently, between 30 and 75 percent of transactions fail.

Who is to blame for this?

Apple announced last week that it would no longer accept payments for subscriptions and purchases from its App Store using Indian debit and credit cards.

If Indian Apple customers wish to make App Store purchases, they must first add money to their Apple ID using the real-time payments system UPI or internet banking, and then spend that money.

In an age of one-click and scan-to-pay sales, this is one step too far.

However, that was the only way the $2.5 trillion corporations could think of to avoid the volatility of card payments in India over the last seven months.

The Reserve Bank of India struck a major blow to digital subscription services on October 1, 2021, by prohibiting recurring card payments without a one-time registration.

It noted that for every recurring transaction below Rs 5,000 ($65), banks must notify clients about the auto-debit at least 24 hours before the renewal date, along with the option to cancel the subscription, in order to increase transparency and give customers greater control.

Users must enter a one-time password (OTP) to authorize every renewal transaction for sums greater than Rs 5,000.

Indian cardholders have been forced to play card bingo since then.

To win, their bank, the merchant whose goods they wish to buy, the merchant's payment aggregator, and the hubs that help set up these recurring transactions, as well as the users themselves, must all work together.

Approximately 29 banks have complied with the rule change so far, encompassing 70% of credit cards and 50% of debit cards in India.

However, bank compliance does not guarantee that repeating transactions will be successful.

According to officials at banks and payment aggregators contacted by The Ken, success rates range from 30% to 75%.

Since October, according to one senior executive at a payment aggregator, 100 percent of foreign payments have failed because merchants outside find it too difficult to comply with Indian requirements.

Because they are not authorized to speak to the media, the executives requested anonymity.

The merchants, though, have been the hardest hit.

According to a top executive at a prominent payment aggregator, retailers who take recurring payments have a 30% success rate.

Most of these businesses don't have the luxury of cancelling card payments entirely, as Apple does.