Digital Payments

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued the Digital Payments – E-Mandate Framework, 2026, consolidating all earlier circulars on recurring payment transactions into a single, unified set of directions. Issued on April 21, 2026, the framework comes into effect immediately and is binding on all Payment System Providers and Payment System Participants. It covers recurring transactions — whether domestic or cross-border — processed through cards, Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPIs) or the Unified Payments Interface (UPI).

The directions have been issued in exercise of the powers conferred under Sections 10(2) read with Section 18 of the Payment and Settlement Systems (PSS) Act, 2007. By consolidating eight earlier circulars issued between 2019 and 2024, the RBI has replaced a fragmented body of instructions with a single, comprehensive framework — one that brings clarity, uniformity and stronger consumer protections to the recurring payments ecosystem.