Overview
- RBI released the draft framework on Monday and asked banks, industry groups and the public to send comments by May 5, 2026.
- The draft creates two categories of agents, with full-service Banking Outlets (BC-BOs) that operate fixed hours and count as banking outlets, and lighter Banking Touchpoints (BC-BTs) for small-value services.
- Pay would be standardised, with BC-BOs earning a fixed plus variable amount set in part by the Indian Banks’ Association, while BC-BTs receive only variable pay linked to activity and customer feedback.
- All transactions at these points must run online through banks’ core systems, with offline use only during brief outages and same-day reconciliation, and banks remain fully responsible for their agents’ actions.
- Business Facilitators would be folded into the new model by September 30, 2026, with the rules slated to take effect from July 1, 2026 if finalised, a shift that could reshape how more than 1.6 million agents serve remote customers.