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RBI Issues Unified E‑Mandate Rules for Recurring Payments, Including Cross‑Border

The framework balances easier auto-debits with stricter customer control to cut fraud.

Overview

  • The Reserve Bank of India, which issued the Digital Payments – E‑mandate Framework, 2026 on Tuesday, extended the rules to domestic and cross‑border recurring payments on cards, prepaid instruments, and UPI.
  • Recurring debits can go through without additional factor authentication up to ₹15,000 per transaction, with a higher no‑AFA cap of up to ₹1,00,000 for insurance premiums, mutual fund subscriptions, and credit card bill payments.
  • Customers can set fixed or capped variable mandates, opt out of a single debit or the entire mandate at any time, and every registration, change, or withdrawal must pass extra authentication.
  • Issuers must send a pre‑debit alert at least 24 hours before each charge with key details, while auto‑top‑ups for FASTag and National Common Mobility Card do not need this advance notice.
  • Providers must map mandates to reissued cards, refrain from charging customers for the facility, offer clear grievance redress, and apply RBI’s existing limits on customer liability for unauthorised transactions.