The Reserve Bank of India has proposed introducing a 1-hour delay for certain digital fund transfers above ₹10,000 and a ‘trusted person’ approval mechanism for transactions exceeding ₹50,000 for vulnerable users, as part of a discussion paper aimed at curbing rising digital payment frauds.
The proposals, outlined in a discussion paper released by the central bank’s Department of Payment and Settlement Systems, seek stakeholder feedback on additional safeguards to strengthen the security of India’s rapidly expanding digital payments ecosystem.
Under the proposal, for certain account-to-account Authorised Push Payment (APP) transactions above ₹10,000, a one-hour lag may be introduced at the payer bank’s end.
During this period, the customer’s account would be provisionally debited, while retaining the option to cancel the transaction.
The measure is intended to provide a window for users to reassess transactions, particularly in cases where fraudsters exploit urgency and psychological pressure.
The central bank has indicated that such a delay could be applied to transactions above ₹10,000, noting that these transactions account for a significant share of fraud value.
According to data cited in the paper, transactions above this level contribute to approximately 98.5 per cent of the total fraud value reported.
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In a separate measure, the RBI has proposed mandatory additional authentication through a ‘trusted person’ for high-value digital transactions undertaken by vulnerable sections of society, including individuals aged 70 years and above and persons with disabilities.
The safeguard would apply to transactions exceeding ₹50,000 and is aimed at mitigating frauds involving impersonation and coercion, which disproportionately affect these groups.
Under the proposed framework, customers would be required to designate a trusted individual whose approval would act as an additional layer of verification for such transactions.
Changes to the trusted person would be subject to a 24-hour cooling period, and customers would also have the option to opt out of the mechanism after due acknowledgement of associated risks.
The RBI has observed that while India’s digital payments ecosystem has expanded significantly over the past decade, fraud incidents have also increased sharply. The number of reported digital payment frauds rose from 2.6 lakh cases in 2021 to 28 lakh cases in 2025, with fraudsters increasingly relying on social engineering tactics rather than technical system breaches.
The discussion paper notes that most such frauds involve users being deceived into authorising transactions themselves, leaving limited scope for post-transaction recovery due to the instantaneous nature of payment systems such as UPI, IMPS, NEFT and RTGS.
Alongside these two key proposals, the RBI has also outlined additional measures, including restrictions on large credits into accounts without enhanced due diligence to curb mule account usage, and customer-controlled digital payment features such as transaction-level controls and an emergency ‘kill switch’ to disable all digital transactions.
The central bank has invited feedback from stakeholders on the feasibility and desirability of these measures, with comments open until 8 May.
