New Delhi: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on March 27 released the Payments Vision 2028 document, outlining a strategic roadmap for the country’s digital payments ecosystem over the next three years with 15 concrete initiatives. The plan aims to make India’s payments sector safer, fairer, and globally robust.
The key initiative is the ‘Shared Responsibility Framework’, under which both the sender’s bank and the receiver’s bank will now be liable in cases of digital fraud. Under current rules, if money disappears from a user’s bank account without authorization, the loss is almost entirely borne by the customer’s bank. The new framework ensures that both banks jointly share responsibility, making security and fraud prevention measures more effective.
FCRF Launches Premier CISO Certification Amid Rising Demand for Cybersecurity Leadership
The document stated, “To ensure balanced accountability, the Shared Responsibility Framework will be explored, under which both the customer’s bank (issuer) and the beneficiary’s bank will jointly bear liability arising from unauthorized digital payment transactions. This approach will incentivize both parties to implement robust fraud detection and prevention measures and ensure timely intervention, thereby enhancing consumer protection and trust in digital payments.”
RBI has also outlined the Payments Switching Service (PaSS) for customers who change their bank accounts or transfer salary accounts. Through PaSS, users will be able to seamlessly transfer all existing payment instructions, including EMIs, salaries, auto-debits, and other transactions, from their old account to the new one.
Additionally, the document proposes giving users the ability to switch all digital payment modes on or off, not just cards, via their bank’s app. The plan also focuses on improving cross-border payment frameworks, reducing remittance costs, and simplifying international trade for MSMEs.
The report also covers electronic cheques, a cyber risk framework for fintech companies, and new security standards. RBI noted that cheque design and security features will be reviewed to strengthen fraud prevention and ensure uniformity across all cheque instruments, adopting best practices throughout.
Experts note that these initiatives will not only enhance consumer protection in digital payments, but also ensure greater accountability and transparency in the banking system. Once the Shared Responsibility Framework is implemented, banks will be obliged to maintain active monitoring and timely action against cybercriminals.
RBI’s plan sends a clear signal that regulators are committed to providing a secure and reliable environment for digital transactions. At the same time, banks and payment companies will be required to maintain advanced fraud detection, monitoring, and real-time intervention systems.
