The Reserve Bank of India has revised its auto-debit and e-mandate rules, allowing recurring digital payments of up to ₹15,000 to be processed without OTP verification after the initial mandate is approved by the customer. The change is expected to make UPI, debit card, credit card and wallet-based auto-pay transactions smoother for users who rely on recurring payments for subscriptions, investments, insurance premiums and utility bills.
Recurring Payments to Become Smoother
Under the revised framework, users will not need to complete OTP verification every time a recurring payment of up to ₹15,000 is deducted, provided the e-mandate has already been properly activated with customer consent. The relaxation applies to approved merchants and service providers where the mandate was set up during registration.
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The move is likely to benefit users paying for regular services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime subscriptions, SIP investments, insurance premiums, electricity bills and other monthly expenses. Earlier, repeated OTP-based authentication often caused delays or failed transactions, particularly for small and frequent payments.
Higher Limit for Select Payment Categories
The RBI has also clarified that for certain categories, including insurance premiums, mutual fund SIPs and credit card bill payments, the Additional Factor Authentication limit may be extended up to ₹1 lakh. This is expected to support higher-value recurring transactions while retaining security safeguards.
The revised system is aimed at reducing friction in digital payments without removing customer control. Banks and payment platforms will continue to process such transactions only where a valid mandate exists and the user has already approved the arrangement.
Advance Alerts and User Control
A key safeguard under the new framework is the requirement for banks to send SMS or email alerts at least 24 hours before any scheduled auto-debit. This advance notification will allow customers to pause, modify or cancel the transaction before the deduction is processed.
Users will also be able to set transaction limits, mandate validity periods and payment caps based on their preferences. Bank platforms will allow customers to modify or revoke active e-mandates at any time, improving transparency and control over recurring payments.
The revised auto-debit rules are expected to improve the efficiency of India’s digital payment infrastructure by reducing transaction failures and making recurring payments more convenient. At the same time, users have been advised to regularly review active subscriptions and auto-debits to avoid unnecessary deductions from unused or forgotten services.
