“Third-party products and services, including those of promoter groups or bank group entities, shall not be displayed on banks’ digital banking channels except as specifically permitted by the Reserve Bank from time to time,” the RBI stated in its draft Digital Banking Channels Authorisation Directions, which is open for public feedback until August 11. The RBI has also stated that banks should not make it mandatory for the customer to opt for any digital banking channel to avail any other facility like debit cards.
The draft also mandates that banks must obtain explicit, documented consent from customers before offering digital banking services. Customers cannot be forced to adopt a digital banking channel to access other facilities, such as debit cards. Banks will now be required to seek prior approval from the RBI before launching any new digital banking channel for transactional purposes. Banks that already have approval for specific digital platforms, such as mobile banking, must obtain fresh approval to introduce any additional digital banking channels.
“Banks shall require prior approval of the Reserve Bank of India for launching transactional banking facilities,” the regulator said.
The RBI has also asked banks to formulate comprehensive policies for all digital banking channels, addressing statutory and regulatory requirements, including management of liquidity and operational risks. The responsibility for risk oversight will lie with the senior management.
The regulator said banks which have implemented core banking solution and have enabled their public facing information technology (IT) infrastructure to handle internet protocol version 6 are eligible to provide view-only banking facility for internet banking, mobile banking, and other digital banking channels-based services.
