On 9-4-2026, the Reserve Bank of India issued Guidelines to facilitate faster cross- border inward payments to streamline the processes at the beneficiary bank and ensuring timely intimation of payment information and credit to the beneficiary’s bank.
These Guidelines came into effect on 9-4-2026.
History of cross- border inward payments:
In 2025, the Reserve Bank of India issued Reserve Bank’s Payment Vision 2025 which aims to bring efficiency in the cross- border payments aligning with the G20 roadmap for cross-border payments that has set targets for achieving cheaper, faster, more transparent, and more accessible cross-border payments.
Need:
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In these types of payments, speed is a major factor.
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One of the challenges with speed of payments is experienced at the beneficiary leg.
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The time taken to credit the payment after it is received by the beneficiary bank is very long.
Guidelines:
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Banks will have to inform customers as soon as a cross-border inward payment is received. If the message is received after business hours, customers must be informed at the start of the next business day.
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Many banks rely on end-of-day nostro account statements to confirm and reconcile receipts, which delays credit to beneficiaries. To speed this up, banks should reconcile and confirm nostro credits more frequently, preferably in near real time or at regular intervals not exceeding 1 hour.
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Banks will have to credit inward payments received during foreign exchange market hours on the same business day. Payments received after market hours should be credited on the next business day, subject to the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (‘FEMA’) and other regulatory requirements.
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Banks can set up straight-through processing to credit inward payments to individual residents’ accounts, based on their risk assessment and in compliance with FEMA guidelines.
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Banks will have to provide customers with a digital platform, within a reasonable timeframe, to carry out foreign exchange transactions, submit documents or information, and track their transactions.
[RBI Guidelines to facilitate faster cross-border inward payments, dt. 9-4-2026]
