Auto-debit transactions/payment rules to change from 1 October; what this means for customers

From next month onwards, banks will be changing auto-debit transactions or payment rules which have been mandated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The changes will come into effect from 1 October. “As per RBI’s recurring payment guidelines, w.e.f. 20-09-21, Standing Instructions on your Axis Bank Card(s) for recurring transactions will not be honoured. You can pay the merchant directly using your card for uninterrupted service,” states a communication sent by Axis Bank as per the Livemint report. Earlier, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) asserted that recurring transactions using Unified Payments Interface (UPI) or other prepaid payment instruments (PPIs), debit cards and credit cards will need additional factor authentication (AFA). Since a few more days are remaining for the month to get over, banks have started informing their customers about these new rules. Details on RBI’s new rules for debit cards and credit cards from 1 October: - Customers will have the liberty or facility to cancel, view, or modify any standing instructions set on their card. - Customers will receive a pre-debit notification 24 hours prior to the debit. This notification can be an SMS or e-mail. - Any transaction greater than Rs 5,000 will require an Additional Factor of Authentication (AFA) each time the amount is debited. - For each Standing Instructions (SI) feature, customers can set a maximum amount. If the transaction amount is bigger than the maximum amount then, the pre-debit notification will have a link for the bank customer to authenticate the transactions along with AFA. However, without this authentication, the transaction will not be processed further. - Meanwhile, all SI that has been set up on the credit card and debit card will not be processed, without authentication. - Even, mandate registration, modification, and deletion will require AFA. Keywords: Reserve Bank of India, RBI, Additional Factor of Authentication, AFA, debit card, credit card, RBI’s new rule