Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai
Mumbai, Apr 22: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday proposed a series of measures to strengthen the regulatory framework for Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPIs), focusing on transaction security, refund norms, interoperability and grievance redressal.
As part of a broader review of existing guidelines, the central bank issued a draft Master Direction on PPIs and invited public comments till May 22, 2026.
PPIs are payment instruments in which money is loaded in advance for transactions, and include general purpose wallets, gift cards, transit PPIs and certain special-purpose instruments.
The RBI said the proposed framework aims to support the long-term growth of the sector while improving user protection and operational clarity.
Under the draft norms, banks permitted to issue debit cards may issue PPIs after prior intimation to the RBI, while non-bank entities can issue them after obtaining authorisation from the regulator.
The RBI has proposed a minimum net worth of Rs 5 crore for non-bank applicants, rising to Rs 15 crore by the end of the third financial year of authorisation.
For general purpose PPIs, the draft proposes that the outstanding balance should not exceed Rs 2 lakh at any point, while cash loading would be capped at Rs 10,000 per month.
The maximum value of gift PPIs has been proposed at Rs 10,000 and transit PPIs at Rs 3,000.
The central bank has also proposed allowing PPIs for foreign nationals and NRIs after physical verification of passport and visa, enabling person-to-merchant payments during their stay in India.
Such PPIs may be loaded against foreign exchange receipts, with monthly debit transactions capped at Rs 5 lakh.
Among consumer protection measures, the RBI proposed that refunds for failed, returned or cancelled transactions should be credited immediately back to the respective PPI, even if this temporarily exceeds prescribed limits.
The draft also seeks to strengthen interoperability, proposing that PPI issuers facilitate integration with card networks or the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) for Full-KYC users, while also enabling discovery of PPIs on third-party UPI apps.
Additionally, issuers would be required to clearly disclose features, charges, validity and terms of PPIs in simple language, preferably in English, Hindi and local languages.
The proposals are aimed at making the digital payments ecosystem more secure, transparent and scalable.