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Informist, Tuesday, Apr. 21, 2026

--RBI issues consolidated directions on digital payments

--RBI's directions on digital payments effective immediately

NEW DELHI – The Reserve Bank of India Tuesday issued consolidated directions for e-mandates necessary for digital payments, mandating an additional factor of authentication for processing all e-mandates. The norms will apply to all payment system providers, payment system participants for processing recurring transactions, domestic or cross-border, using cards, pre-paid payment instruments or unified payment interface. These directions will take effect immediately. 

The central bank said that all recurring transactions over INR 15,000 will need to be authorised with an additional factor of authentication. Payment of insurance premiums, subscription to mutual funds, and credit card bill payments over INR 100,000 will also need additional factors of authentication. An additional factor of authentication will also be necessary for processing the first transaction under an e-mandate, RBI said. "Payments under e-mandates shall not be subject to any other limits or controls set by the customer," the central bank said. 

According to the norms, a customer opting for an e-mandate facility must undertake a one-time registration process, and the mandate will be registered only after successful validation of an additional factor of authentication, in addition to the normal process required by the issuer. Every e-mandate registered by the issuer will specify the validity period and provide the customer with a facility to modify it or withdraw the e-mandate at any point in time. "Information about this facility shall be clearly communicated to the customer at the time of registration," the RBI said. 

The e-mandate may also be either for a pre-specified fixed amount or for a variable amount, subject to the overall cap fixed by the RBI. "In the case of variable e-mandates, the issuer shall provide the customer with a facility to specify the maximum value of any recurring transaction," the central bank said. Any modification to an existing e-mandate will require additional factor of authentication validation by the issuer. 

No charges will be levied on the customer for availing the e-mandate facility for recurring transactions, the RBI also said.  End

Reported by Priyasmita Dutta

Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury

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