RBI raises prepaid card limit to Rs1 lakh; gift card to be valid for 3 yrs
Banks have also been permitted to issue non-reloadable instruments in electronic form to foreign nationals or NRIs visiting India
Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday enhanced the maximum balance that can be made available in a prepaid instrument (PPI) to ₹ 1 lakh from ₹ 50,000.
The central bank also permitted gift cards with a validity of three years, up from the current one year. Also, two new card categories have been introduced; one, those issued to family members from fully know-your-customer (KYC) compliant bank accounts; and two, cards for visiting foreign nationals and non-resident Indians (NRIs).
PPIs include prepaid cards, mobile wallets, Internet wallets and paper vouchers. The norms for PPIs have been changed “based on a comprehensive internal review and the feedback received from the entities currently authorized to issue prepaid payment instruments," RBI said.
With the change in norms, a fully KYC-compliant individual can now load up to ₹ 1 lakh in a prepaid instrument. Additionally, such customers can transfer funds from their accounts to a prepaid instrument issued to a family member, subject to a limit of ₹ 10,000 per cash-out and a ceiling of ₹ 25,000 per month.
Banks have also been permitted to issue non-reloadable instruments in electronic form to foreign nationals or NRIs visiting India which could be co-branded with exchange houses and money transmitters approved by RBI.
“The cards can be issued by overseas branches of banks in India directly or by cobranding with the exchange houses/money transmitters upto a maximum amount of ₹ 2 lakhs by loading from a KYC compliant bank account," RBI said.
“Such PPIs should be activated by the bank only after the traveller arrives in India. Cash withdrawal from such PPIs will be restricted to ₹ 50,000/- per month. The cards should be issued strictly for use in India and transactions settled in rupees," RBI said adding that one individual can only hold one card at a time which has to be non-transferable.
Banks have to maintain a transaction history of the accounts and refund of un-utilised amount has to adhere to foreign exchange guidelines.
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