The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released its ‘Payments Vision 2028’ document on March 27, 2026. This document proposes to introduce ‘e-cheques’ (electronic cheques) in place of traditional paper-based cheques. It aims to make digital payments even simpler, faster and secure.
The Reserve Bank said it will examine the feasibility of introducing e-cheques, so as to combine the benefits of paper-based instruments with the speed and reliability of digital payments. “The feasibility of introducing electronic checks in India will be examined to take advantage of the unique advantages of paper-based instruments as well as to utilize the speed and reliability of electronic payments—and to meet new business use cases,” the RBI said.
RBI’s future plans
RBI plans to introduce ‘e-cheques’ in the near future by combining the features of traditional checks with digital technology. It aims to speed up check-based payments and reduce the possibility of fraud. RBI is also considering expanding its regulatory ambit to include entities such as e-commerce marketplaces and centralized platforms; These institutions are playing an increasingly important role in facilitating digital transactions.
“Further, e-commerce marketplaces and centralized platforms are performing important responsibilities which may impact the smooth functioning of the payments ecosystem. These aspects will be examined in detail, and if deemed necessary, the scope of direct regulation will be expanded to cover such entities,” the document said. The central bank’s objective behind this move is to ensure that all entities involved in the payments ecosystem remain accountable.
**Curbing digital fraud**
The vision document also proposes to give users the ability to toggle transactions made through various digital payment channels on or off—similar to the controls currently available for card transactions. For example, just as debit or credit cards can currently be turned on or off through mobile applications, users will be able to have similar control over other digital payment methods. Similar facilities should be made available for all digital payment modes like UPI and net banking. This will increase customers’ control over their transactions and will also strengthen security.
To address the risks associated with fraud, RBI is considering a ‘Shared Responsibility Framework’ under which both the issuing bank and the beneficiary bank will share the liability in cases of unauthorized digital transactions. In other words, in cases of digital fraud, the customer’s bank will no longer have the sole responsibility.
Other initiatives include exploring white-label solutions under the ‘Aadhaar-enabled Payment System’ (AePS), developing interoperability in the ‘Trade Receivables e-Discounting System’ (TReDS), and launching a ‘Payments Switching Service’ to help customers easily migrate to different platforms.
