The ‘Reserve Bank of India (Digital Banking Channels Authorisation) Directions, 2025’ said banks should put in place a risk-based transaction monitoring and surveillance mechanism.
Study of customer transaction behaviour pattern and monitoring unusual transactions or obtaining prior confirmation from customers for outlier transactions may be incorporated in the systems in accordance with the Fraud Risk Management Policy of the bank, said the draft.
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“Third-party products and services, including those of promoter groups or bank group entities (subsidiaries/joint ventures/associates), shall not be displayed on banks’ digital banking channels except as specifically permitted by the Reserve Bank from time to time…,” it said.
Banks offering mobile banking service (other than through mobile applications) must ensure that customers across mobile network operators can avail of the service, meaning the service will be network independent.The draft said banks shall put in place appropriate risk mitigation measures in accordance with their policies, like transaction limit (per transaction, daily, weekly, monthly), transaction velocity limit, and fraud checks depending on their risk perception.It further said banks should not make it mandatory for the customer to opt for any digital banking channel to avail any other facility like debit cards.
“While it may be more convenient for the customer to opt for some services together (for example, virtual access to card controls), the choice to apply for digital banking facilities shall lie solely with the customer,” the draft said.
Also, banks should obtain explicit consent from the customer for providing digital banking services, which may be duly recorded/documented, it said.
“Banks shall require prior approval of the Reserve Bank for launching transactional banking facility,” the draft said.
Subject to fulfilment of the prudential eligibility criteria, banks may apply to the respective Regional Office of the Reserve Bank for launch of transactional banking facility, along with a board resolution.
They will also have to provide supporting documents, including related to net worth as per minimum regulatory requirement or Rs 50 crore, whichever is higher, as on March 31 of the immediately preceding financial year.
All banks which have implemented Core Banking Solution (CBS) and have enabled their public-facing Information Technology (IT) infrastructure to handle Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) traffic are eligible to provide view-only banking facility for internet banking, mobile banking, and other digital banking channels-based services, the draft said. PTI
