The Reserve Bank of India has set new limits and compliance rules for domestic money transfers involving people without bank accounts, allowing cash pay-in transfers of up to ₹50,000 through bank branches and national electronic funds transfer, while retaining lower limits for transfers routed through business correspondents, ATMs and other authorised channels.
The domestic money transfer directions 2026 apply to scheduled commercial banks, including regional rural banks, urban and state cooperative banks, and district central cooperative banks. They also cover authorised payment system operators and participants wherever they are involved in domestic money transfer services.
Under the cash pay-out service, a person with a bank account can send money to a recipient who does not have one. The recipient can collect the funds in cash through an ATM, business correspondent or another authorised payment channel. Banks must maintain records of the beneficiary’s name and address.
The cash pay-out facility permits transfers of up to ₹10,000 per transaction, subject to a monthly limit of ₹25,000 for each beneficiary. The structure is intended to support recipients who need to receive money in cash without maintaining a bank account, while placing transaction-level and monthly controls on the service.
The directions also set out rules for cash pay-in transfers, under which a person without a bank account can deposit money into a beneficiary’s bank account. When the transfer is made by visiting a bank branch and using NEFT, the limit is ₹50,000 per transaction. Banks may also facilitate cash pay-ins through business correspondents, ATMs and other authorised channels, but those routes carry a limit of ₹5,000 per transaction and a monthly cap of ₹25,000 per sender.
Senders using the cash pay-in service must register with the bank or business correspondent using a verified mobile number and a self-certified officially valid document, in line with the RBI’s KYC 2025 rules. Each transaction must be verified through an additional factor of authentication.
Banks and their business correspondents must also comply with applicable income-tax rules governing cash deposits. The sender’s details must be included in the IMPS or NEFT transaction message, and the transfer must be identified as a cash-based remittance. These requirements create a record of the transaction while allowing the sender to use a formal banking channel without holding a bank account.
The new directions replace the earlier review of the domestic money transfer framework for 2024-25 and the relaxations issued under the 2011 guidelines, according to the report. The revised framework therefore consolidates the rules for cash pay-in and cash pay-out services across banks, payment operators and participating authorised channels.
For households and workers dependent on cash-based remittances, the distinction between the channels will determine both the maximum amount that can be sent and the documentation required. The directions also place responsibility on banks and their agents to verify customers, preserve beneficiary details and clearly identify cash-based transfers in payment messages.
