The government's Digital Economy Management Commission ordered Shaparak Company, the main e-payment network, to suspend new rules obliging payment facilitator applications to display the online trust logo ‘e-Namad’.
Reza Baqeri, deputy head of the commission in a letter to Kazem Dehqan, the company CEO, said that the subject of obtaining the e-Namad not being a compulsion for starting a business is under review by the Digital Economy Special Workforce (DESW), and it is for that body to decide, way2pay.ir reported.
The fact that Shaparak insists on payment facilitators to acquire the trust logo, goes against the decisions and efforts by the Board for Deregulation and Ease of Doing Business and the DESW, Baqeri noted.
On Oct 8, Shaparak CEO sent a letter to payment facilitators warning that their business would be suspended if they fail to acquire the logo within six weeks. The move triggered a flood of criticism from businesses active in the fin-techs.
The trust logo apparently seeks to display that online services offered by such sites are safer than websites lacking the symbols and have government approval.
However, applicants need to go through time-consuming and bloated bureaucracies to obtain the badge.
The Iranian Fintech Association, a non-government body formed by fintech, says such haphazard and hurried decisions damage the fintech ecosystem. It has threatened to take its case to the Administrative Court of Justice.
Mehdi Shariatmadar, head of the association said that the e-Namad subject was not new and has been stuck in in open-ended debate.
“At present, the majority of active businesses do not have the logo. Moreover, businesses lacking regulatory frameworks are far too many. So, when the government has not fulfilled its own responsibility why should businesses pay the price?”
Shariatmadar complained that the Shaparak warning in essence unveils the company’s utter ignorance and total lack of understanding of the current economic, political, and business climate in the country.
“Businesses are going through enough with the internet disruptions. No one is willing to make new investments in fin-techs while most existing businesses are planning to migrate. Those responsible have crossed the line with such defective decisions.”
