RBI Releases Draft Master Direction on Prepaid Payment Instruments, 2026
Summary
The Reserve Bank of India released a draft Master Direction on Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPIs) on April 22, 2026, marking a comprehensive review of existing PPI guidelines with the stated goal of fostering long-term growth and enhancing transaction security. The draft is open for public comment from regulated entities and all stakeholders through May 22, 2026, via the RBI's Connect 2 Regulate portal. Once finalized, the Direction will establish updated operational and security standards for all prepaid payment instrument issuers operating in India.
“As a part of its continued efforts to develop a conducive framework for long term growth of Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPIs) with enhanced security of transactions, a comprehensive review of guidelines on PPIs has been undertaken by the Reserve Bank.”
PPI issuers — including wallet operators, card issuers, and any entity offering prepaid instruments — should review the draft carefully while the comment window is open and submit any operational concerns or clarification requests before May 22, 2026. Early engagement may influence requirements that will become binding upon finalisation.
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GovPing monitors RBI Press Releases for new banking & finance regulatory changes. Every update since tracking began is archived, classified, and available as free RSS or email alerts — 200 changes logged to date.
What changed
The RBI has released a draft Master Direction on Prepaid Payment Instruments as part of a comprehensive review of the existing PPI framework. The draft addresses operating requirements, transaction security standards, and customer protection measures for PPI issuers. All regulated entities offering prepaid payment instruments in India, as well as members of the public and other stakeholders, are invited to submit comments and feedback on or before May 22, 2026, through the RBI's Connect 2 Regulate portal. Once the Direction is finalized, PPI issuers will need to ensure their products and operations comply with the updated requirements, which may necessitate changes to existing systems, onboarding processes, and security protocols.
Archived snapshot
Apr 23, 2026GovPing captured this document from the original source. If the source has since changed or been removed, this is the text as it existed at that time.
Press Releases
| () | |
| Date : Apr 22, 2026 | |
| RBI issues Draft Master Direction on Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPIs), 2026 | |
| | As a part of its continued efforts to develop a conducive framework for long term growth of Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPIs) with enhanced security of transactions, a comprehensive review of guidelines on PPIs has been undertaken by the Reserve Bank. Accordingly, RBI today released the draft Master Direction on Prepaid Payment Instruments.
The comments / feedback on the draft Direction may be submitted by the regulated entities and members of public / other stakeholders on or before May 22, 2026 through the ‘ Connect 2 Regulate ’ section on the website by following the corresponding hyperlink provided against each document in the page where they are hosted.
(Brij Raj)
Chief General Manager
Press Release: 2026-2027/124 | | As a part of its continued efforts to develop a conducive framework for long term growth of Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPIs) with enhanced security of transactions, a comprehensive review of guidelines on PPIs has been undertaken by the Reserve Bank. Accordingly, RBI today released the draft Master Direction on Prepaid Payment Instruments.
The comments / feedback on the draft Direction may be submitted by the regulated entities and members of public / other stakeholders on or before May 22, 2026 through the ‘ Connect 2 Regulate ’ section on the website by following the corresponding hyperlink provided against each document in the page where they are hosted.
(Brij Raj)
Chief General Manager
Press Release: 2026-2027/124 |
| As a part of its continued efforts to develop a conducive framework for long term growth of Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPIs) with enhanced security of transactions, a comprehensive review of guidelines on PPIs has been undertaken by the Reserve Bank. Accordingly, RBI today released the draft Master Direction on Prepaid Payment Instruments.
The comments / feedback on the draft Direction may be submitted by the regulated entities and members of public / other stakeholders on or before May 22, 2026 through the ‘ Connect 2 Regulate ’ section on the website by following the corresponding hyperlink provided against each document in the page where they are hosted.
(Brij Raj)
Chief General Manager
Press Release: 2026-2027/124 | |
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