India’s central bank is considering new controls for high-value transactions amid rise in digital frauds.
According to a Reuters report, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has released a discussion paper that proposes transaction delays for certain transfers and additional checks for payments made by senior citizens.
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The RBI proposed a one-hour delay for account-to-account transfers above Rs10,000 ($107.92) processed through fast payment systems, including the Unified Payments Interface (UPI). The central bank said the lag would give customers time to cancel a transaction.
However, the proposed delay would not apply to merchant payments, which have their own dispute-resolution processes.
The paper also outlined a model in which a customer’s account would be provisionally debited during the delay period. The system could generate alerts if a transaction appears suspicious.
Low-value transactions would continue to be processed instantly to avoid disruption to routine payments.
The RBI is also considering added protections for elderly and vulnerable customers. Under the proposal, customers aged 70 and above, as well as people with disabilities, may need approval from a “trusted person” for transactions above Rs50,000.
The paper said customers would likely be allowed to opt out.
The RBI move comes as digital payment fraud cases rose more than ten-fold to 2.8 million between 2021 and 2025, the news agency added citing data from the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal.
Over the same period, the value of losses increased nearly 40 times to Rs230bn ($2.49 billion).
Other measures discussed in the paper include annual limits for certain bank accounts, pending additional checks. The RBI also outlined “kill switches” that would allow users to disable all digital payments instantly.
The central bank has invited public feedback on the discussion paper until 8 May. After reviewing the responses, it will plan issuing formal guidelines.
Last month, RBI released its “Payments Vision 2028”, with focus on user empowerment and measures to address fraud.
