Bank transactions of more than ₹10,000 may take 1-hour time:Customers can disable bank account payment feature themselves

Soon, it may happen that your online transaction of more than ₹10,000 may not be instant. There could be a delay of one hour. This will give customers a chance to stop or cancel wrong transactions. RBI has proposed this to prevent increasing digital fraud in the country. RBI believes that fraudsters often create psychological pressure to transfer money in haste, this delay will eliminate that pressure. Currently, most digital transactions happen instantly, which doesn’t give users a chance to think or correct mistakes. 3 other major points related to RBI’s proposal 1. ‘Trusted Person’ facility for senior citizens Security will be stricter for senior citizens over 70 years of age and persons with disabilities. For transactions exceeding ₹50,000, approval from a ‘trusted person’ may be required. This will work as a second layer of protection against fraud. 2. Will be able to include trusted persons in ‘whitelist’ If you are sending money to a person or merchant whom you know, you can include them in your ‘whitelist’. The 1-hour delay will not apply to payments made to whitelisted people, which will prevent inconvenience in regular transactions. 3. ‘Kill switch’ to stop digital payments RBI has also suggested a ‘kill switch’. If a customer feels that their account has been hacked or some wrong transaction is happening, they will be able to immediately stop all their digital payment services with one click. What will change? Why was this needed? Last year, losses due to digital fraud in the country crossed ₹22,000 crore. According to RBI, transactions above ₹10,000 are only 45% of total fraud cases, but their share in total fraud value is 98.5%. Keeping this in mind, the limit of ₹10,000 has been set. When can the rule be implemented? RBI is currently discussing the technical aspects of this with banks and the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). The main challenge is how to balance the ‘speed’ and ‘security’ of digital payments. It is being expected that detailed guidelines for this may be issued in the next few months and it will be implemented in a phased manner. Expert View: Balance between security and speed RBI has acknowledged that the basic principle of digital payment is ‘instant’ payment. Mandatory delay may cause some inconvenience to users, but it is necessary from a security perspective. RBI has sought suggestions from the general public and stakeholders on this discussion paper till May 8.