RBI eases operating norms for payments banks

Reserve Bank of India, in its operating guidelines for payments banks (PBs), said it will have no objection to these banks making arrangements with any other scheduled commercial bank/small finance bank, whereby amounts in excess of the prescribed limit of ₹1 lakh is swept into an account opened for the customer with the latter.

This arrangement should be activated with the prior written consent of the customer, the central bank said.

According to RBI directions, PBs can accept only savings and current deposits. The aggregate limit per customer cannot exceed ₹1 lakh, as provided in the Licensing Guidelines.

The prescribed limit will apply to customer deposits and not to any security/earnest money deposit the bank may collect from any of its service providers in the ordinary course of business.

According to the operating guidelines, PBs need not issue passbooks for deposit accounts. They may provide a statement of account in paper form on request on chargeable basis, or otherwise.

PBs may provide account information through multiple user-friendly modes, such as SMS and/or internet banking, and they should provide electronic confirmation through SMS/e-mail/printed proof for each account transaction.

The RBI said the annual plans for opening of physical access points by the PBs for the initial five years would need its prior approval. The first of such plans should be submitted to the RBI before commencement of business. After the initial stabilisation period of five years, and after a review, the RBI may liberalise the requirement of prior approval.

An employee of the PB should be available for sufficient duration, at a fixed location known to the customers at the district level, to attend to customer grievances and support the agent supervision.

This fixed location may also be used to conduct the banking business of the PB, and it will be considered as a physical access point for the purpose of assessing the requirement of opening at least 25 per cent physical access points in rural centres.

The PBs will be exempted from the requirement of having a base branch for a certain number of business correspondents (BCs)/access points managed by BCs as currently stipulated in the RBI guidelines to scheduled commercial banks.