The need for digital payments has become very important and need-of-the-hour situation in the pandemic era. Contactless system of payments can prevent people from getting infected whereas chances of any kind of infection are very much possible while dealing in physical payments. The system of digital payments is also risky as hackers are always active. To curb the ongoing online frauds, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is coming up Digital Payment Security Controls to make the digital payments safer and more secure. The digital payments include mobile banking, mobile wallets, internet banking, UPI and all kinds of credit card and debit card transactions.

“Going by the pre-eminent role being played by digital payment systems in India, RBI gives highest importance to the security controls around it. Now it is proposed to issue Reserve Bank of India (Digital Payment Security Controls) Directions, 2020 for regulated entities to set up a robust governance structure for such systems and implement common minimum standards of security controls for channels like internet, mobile banking, card payments, among others,” says the RBI in an official statement.

There will be no change in accessing digital payment tools, credit or debit cards, etc. All authentication and security methods will stay the same as before. RBI also said that there is further relaxation in additional authentication requirement for credit card users. Users can make a transaction without entering PIN for amount up to 5000/- which earlier was 2000/- at the stores they visit physically.

This year with the beginning of lockdown due to covid, credit card transactions were recorded at around 127,129 million rupees in April and the numbers have gone even higher by September 2020. Digital payments will continue to grow hence security controls will be issued by Reserve Bank Of India (Digital Payment Security Controls) Directions, 2020.