RBI Guidelines on Fast Credits of Remittances under 2007 Act

· Objective:
Reserve Bank of India aims to make cross-border payments faster, cheaper, transparent, and accessible, aligned with the G20 roadmap and Payments Vision 2025.

· Key Issue Identified:
Delays occur at the beneficiary bank stage, especially from receipt of funds to credit into the customer’s account.

· Major Instructions to Banks:

1. Immediate Customer Intimation:

§ Notify customers instantly upon receiving inward payment message.

§ If received after working hours → inform next business day morning.

2. Faster Nostro Reconciliation:

§ Avoid reliance on end-of-day statements.

§ Reconcile near real-time or periodically (max 1-hour interval).

3. Timely Credit to Beneficiary:

§ During forex market hours → same-day credit.

§ After market hours → next business day credit.

§ Subject to FEMA and regulatory compliance.

4. Straight Through Processing (STP):

§ Banks may implement automated credit systems for resident individuals based on risk assessment.

5. Digital Interface for Customers:

§ Provide platforms for:

§ Forex transactions

§ Document submission

§ Transaction tracking

• Implementation Timeline:

o Guidelines become effective 6 months from April 9, 2026.

• Legal Basis:

o Issued under Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007.

RBI Releases Circular on Guidelines to Facilitate Faster Cross-Border Inward Payments

[RBI Press Release/09.04.2026]

The Reserve Bank of India on 9 April, 2026 issued the circular on Guidelines to facilitate faster cross-border inward payments.

The RBI had issued a draft circular on the subject on October 29, 2025, seeking feedback from stakeholders. Feedback received on the draft circular has been examined and consequent modifications have been suitably incorporated in the final circular. Statement on the major feedback received on the draft circular is provided in the Annex.

This circular is intended to address certain frictions identified in inward cross-border payments to facilitate the timely intimation of payment information and crediting of funds to the beneficiary’s account.