The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has consolidated its existing instructions on Domestic Money Transfer (DMT), setting out transaction limits and requirements for customer verification, authentication and monitoring of cash-based remittances.
The RBI (Domestic Money Transfer) Directions, 2026, issued on November 11, are effective immediately.
They apply to scheduled commercial banks, including regional rural banks and co-operative banks, as well as authorised payment system operators and participants, as applicable.
The DMT framework facilitates small-value fund transfers through formal banking channels, particularly for people such as migrant workers who may lack access to banking services due to limited identity or address documentation.
Cash pay-out: ₹10,000 per transaction
Under the Cash Pay-out Service, banks can facilitate transfers from a customer’s bank account for cash delivery to a beneficiary who does not have a bank account. The recipient can collect the money through an ATM, a Business Correspondent (BC) or another authorised payment channel.
The limit is ₹10,000 per transaction, subject to a monthly ceiling of ₹25,000 per beneficiary. The remitting bank must maintain the beneficiary’s name and address.
Cash pay-in: ₹5,000 per transaction through BCs
Customers visiting a bank branch can remit up to ₹50,000 to a beneficiary’s bank account through NEFT.
Banks can also facilitate cash-based transfers through BCs, ATMs and other permitted channels, subject to a limit of ₹5,000 per transaction and ₹25,000 per remitter per month.
Mobile verification and authentication mandatory
For cash-based transfers through BCs and other permitted channels, the remitter must be registered using a verified mobile number and a self-certified Officially Valid Document (OVD), in accordance with the RBI’s KYC Directions, 2025.
Every transaction must be validated through an Additional Factor of Authentication (AFA).
Banks must also include the remitter’s details in the IMPS or NEFT transaction message, along with an identifier marking the transaction as a cash-based remittance.
Monitoring and grievance redressal
Banks and non-bank entities, as applicable, must put in place safeguards such as transaction velocity checks and customer alerts for credits received through these facilities.
Any unusual increase in credits to an account or a group of accounts must be investigated immediately. Suspicious transactions must be reported to the appropriate authorities.
The RBI expects transfers under the framework to be completed in real time or near real time.
Banks and non-banks can levy reasonable charges for these services and must have mechanisms to address customer complaints. Such grievances will be covered under the Reserve Bank – Integrated Ombudsman Scheme, 2026.
Earlier circulars subsumed
The new directions consolidate and replace two earlier RBI circulars: the October 5, 2011 circular on relaxations under the DMT framework and the July 24, 2024 circular reviewing the framework.
Card-to-card transfers are excluded from the new directions and will continue to be governed by the guidelines applicable to the respective payment instruments.