Customers without bank accounts can send up to ₹50,000 with cash pay-in service, say RBI guidelines

The RBI’s domestic money transfer directions 2026 allow people without bank accounts to send and receive money through banks and authorised channels.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), under its domestic money transfer directions 2026, has specified instructions for customers without a bank account who want to send and receive funds.

The cash pay-out service allows transfers of up to ₹10,000 per transaction, subject to a monthly limit of ₹25,000 per beneficiary. (REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas)

The directions will apply to all scheduled commercial banks, including regional rural banks (RRBs) and urban and state cooperative banks, as well as district central cooperative banks. They will also cover authorised payment system operators and participants, wherever applicable to domestic money transfer services.

Cash pay-out service

The cash pay-out service allows customers without a bank account to receive money.

Under this service, RBI has permitted banks to allow customers to transfer money from their accounts to recipients who do not have bank accounts. The recipients can collect the money in cash through ATMs, business correspondents (BCs) or other authorised payment channels.

Banks must maintain a record of the beneficiary's name and address. The service allows transfers of up to ₹10,000 per transaction, subject to a monthly limit of ₹25,000 per beneficiary.

Cash pay-in service

Under the cash pay-in service, people without bank accounts can deposit money into a beneficiary's bank account by visiting a bank branch and using national electronic funds transfer (NEFT). For these transfers, there is a limit of ₹50,000 per transaction.

Banks can also facilitate such transfers through business correspondents (BCs), ATMs and other authorised channels, with a limit of ₹5,000 per transaction and a monthly cap of ₹25,000 per sender.

How to use the cash pay-in service

To use the service, senders must register with the bank or BC using a verified mobile number and a self-certified officially valid document (OVD), in accordance with the RBI's KYC 2025 rules.

Every transaction must also be verified through an additional factor of authentication (AFA).

Banks and their BCs must comply with applicable income-tax rules for cash deposits. They must also include the sender's details in the IMPS or NEFT transaction message and identify the transfer as a cash-based remittance.

With the new directions issued on Wednesday, older review of framework 2024-25 and relaxations 2011 guidelines have been repealed.