The Reserve Bank of India has released its Payments Vision 2028, a comprehensive roadmap titled “Shaping India’s Payment Frontier” aimed at strengthening security, cross-border integration, and innovation in the financial ecosystem. The plan outlines roughly 15 strategic initiatives designed to build trust, resilience, and global competitiveness within India’s digital payments landscape.
A key element of the roadmap is a proposed Payments Switching Service, or PaSS, which would allow consumers to migrate payment instructions easily when switching bank accounts. The RBI also plans to introduce a shared responsibility framework to determine liability in fraud cases, making both the issuer and beneficiary bank jointly accountable instead of consumers bearing the full burden.
The Vision document also outlines a framework for recognising Small Payment System Providers under a perpetual regulatory sandbox, promoting scalability for emerging fintech players. The RBI will review cheque design standards and explore the introduction of electronic cheques that combine traditional reliability with digital efficiency.
On the international front, the central bank intends to streamline cross-border payment rules to reduce friction and costs, while proposing a single-window authorisation system under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act and FEMA to simplify approvals for global operators.
Separately, a new two-factor authentication framework will take effect on April 1, mandating that all digital transactions across cards, UPI, and wallets be verified using at least two independent factors. One of these must be dynamically generated for each transaction, with options including biometrics, device tokens, or passphrases. Financial liability will fall on issuers if authentication standards are not met.
RBI’s Vision 2028 also calls for an AI-driven payments data repository and enhanced cybersecurity measures for non-bank operators. The document projects that digital payment volumes will nearly triple by FY30 while retaining flexibility to adapt to emerging technologies and risks.
Read Article: Iran Conflict Triggers Oil Shock, Fueling Global Surge in EV Demand
