Digital payment has become an essential part of our lives. Whether you want to make payment to the vegetable seller or make a transaction worth lakhs, everything is done with a single click of the smartphone. However, with this facility the risk of online fraud has also increased rapidly. Cyber criminals are stealing the hard earned money of common people every day. In such a situation, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has brought great relief for the common people. Recently, the Central Bank introduced the draft of a new proposal, under which if even a small digital fraud happens to you, the loss will be compensated. Under this new system, the victim will get compensation up to Rs 25,000.
What are the compensation rules?
This step of RBI will directly provide relief to those customers who often become victims of minor online frauds. According to the new proposal, if a person is defrauded in an electronic banking transaction and suffers a total loss of up to ₹50,000, he will be entitled to compensation. Compensation will be 85% of the total loss or a maximum of ₹25,000 (whichever is less). However, this facility is available only once in a lifetime. Repeated fraud victims will not be eligible for this scheme.
Action will have to be taken within 5 days
Caution is very important to get this compensation. As soon as you come to know that you have been cheated, you have to take immediate action. Under the rules, victims have to report the fraud to their bank within 5 days of the fraud. Additionally, it is important to file a complaint on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal or the National Cybercrime Helpline. After receiving the complaint, the bank has to pay the compensation amount to the customer within 5 calendar days.
Understand the mathematics of compensation amount
Under this scheme, the financial burden of compensation will be shared primarily between the RBI and banks. Its rules are quite clear.
If loss is less than ₹29,412: 65% will be given directly by RBI. The remaining 20 percent (10 percent each) will be borne by both the customer’s bank and the bank to which the money was transferred (beneficiary bank).
If the loss is between ₹29,412 and ₹50,000: The maximum compensation will be ₹25,000. In this case, RBI will give ₹19,118, while both the banks will have to give ₹2,941.
Banks will subsequently be able to claim their share from the RBI every three months.
When will this new rule come into effect?
Reserve Bank Governor Sanjay Malhotra had hinted at this change while announcing the monetary policy on February 6. Subsequently, a draft Customer Liability Framework for Digital Transactions was introduced on 6 March. At present, the Central Bank has sought public comments on this matter, and has been given time till April 6, 2026. If everything goes as per plan, this new rule will be applicable to all electronic banking transactions done on or after July 1, 2026.
