Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Digital Payments – E‑Mandate Framework, 2026

RBI has issued the ‘Digital Payments – E-mandate Framework’, dated 21 April 2026, applicable to Payment System Providers and Payment System Participants involved in processing recurring domestic and cross-border transactions through cards, Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPIs), and Unified Payments Interface (UPI).

Summary of RBI directions

Registration and revocation

E‑mandates must be registered after successful Additional Factor Authentication (AFA) validation and validity period of the mandate must be communicated during registration
First transaction and recurring transactions

First transaction under an e‑mandate requires AFA and subsequent payments are not subjected to any additional customer‑defined limits or controls
Transaction notifications

Issuers to send a notification 24 hours before actual amount debit and issuers to also provide option to opt-out of an e-mandate post an AFA validation
Grievance redressal and velocity checks

Issuers to provide a grievance redressal mechanism to enable customers to lodge and resolve complaints
Miscellaneous provisions

No fees shall be charged for using e-mandate services and for cards, existing mandates can be mapped to re-issued cards

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