During 2025-26, the Reserve Bank continued its efforts to provide secure, accessible, affordable, and efficient payment systems across the country. It strengthened the resilience and inclusiveness of the digital payments ecosystem while expanding the global footprint of India’s domestic payment platforms, particularly Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and RuPay cards. The Reserve Bank remained focused on maintaining a robust and secure information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure to ensure the smooth functioning of its information technology (IT) systems and applications in the Reserve Bank. IX.1 Building on the foundations laid by earlier Payment Vision documents1, the Reserve Bank focused on expanding the adoption of digital payments across all segments of society through promotion of innovation and a supportive regulatory framework. The Reserve Bank released Payments Vision 2028 during the year, outlining the roadmap for digital payments up to December 2028. On the international front, efforts to expand the global outreach of UPI and RuPay cards continued. IX.2 The Department of Information Technology (DIT) made significant advancements during the year in leveraging technology to enhance its operations, including the upgradation of NGRTGS2 - which provides an upgraded payment system with richer web user interface and enhanced performance and security. IX.3 Against this backdrop, section 2 covers developments in the area of payment and settlement systems during 2025-26 and also assesses the implementation status of the agenda for the year. Section 3 provides various measures undertaken by DIT vis-à-vis the agenda set for 2025-26. Developments with regard to Reserve Bank Information Technology (ReBIT) and Indian Financial Technology and Allied Services (IFTAS), wholly owned subsidiaries of the Reserve Bank, are also presented. The agenda of these departments for 2026-27 are covered in their respective sections. Concluding observations are set out in the last section. 2. DEPARTMENT OF PAYMENT AND SETTLEMENT SYSTEMS (DPSS) IX.4 During the year, DPSS undertook several initiatives in line with Payments Vision 2025 across the pillars of integrity, inclusion, innovation, institutionalisation, and internationalisation. Payment Systems IX.5 Cashless transactions3 recorded a robust growth of 26.8 per cent in terms of transaction volume during 2025-26, following an expansion of 34.8 per cent in the previous year (Table IX.1). In value terms, the growth moderated to 13.2 per cent in 2025-26 from 17.3 per cent in the previous year. | Table IX.1: Payment System Indicators - Annual Turnover (April-March) | | Item | Volume (lakh) | Value (₹ lakh crore) | | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | 2025-26 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | 2025-26 | | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | | A. Settlement Systems | | | | | | | | CCIL Operated Systems | 43 | 47 | 57 | 2,592.1 | 2,962.2 | 3,670.1 | | B. Payment Systems | | | | | | | | 1. Large Value Credit Transfers - RTGS | 2,700 | 3,025 | 3,500 | 1,708.9 | 2,013.9 | 2,273.7 | | Retail Segment (2 to 6) | | | | | | | | 2. Credit Transfers | 14,86,107 | 20,61,015 | 26,18,738 | 675.4 | 798.8 | 919.4 | | 2.1 AePS (Fund Transfers) | 4 | 4 | 3 | - | - | 0.002 | | 2.2 APBS | 25,888 | 32,964 | 33,854 | 3.9 | 5.5 | 7.2 | | 2.3 ECS Cr | - | - | - | - | - | - | | 2.4 IMPS | 60,053 | 56,250 | 49,431 | 65.0 | 71.4 | 76.7 | | 2.5 NACH Cr | 16,227 | 16,939 | 18,284 | 15.3 | 16.7 | 19.0 | | 2.6 NEFT | 72,640 | 96,198 | 1,00,996 | 391.4 | 444.6 | 502.3 | | 2.7 UPI | 13,11,295 | 18,58,660 | 24,16,169 | 200.0 | 260.6 | 314.2 | | 3. Debit Transfers and Direct Debits | 18,250 | 21,660 | 23,471 | 16.9 | 22.1 | 27.0 | | 3.1 BHIM Aadhaar Pay | 194 | 230 | 232 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | | 3.2 ECS Dr | - | - | - | - | - | - | | 3.3 NACH Dr | 16,426 | 19,762 | 21,614 | 16.8 | 22.0 | 26.9 | | 3.4 NETC (Linked to Bank Account) | 1,629 | 1,668 | 1,625 | - | - | 0.02 | | 4. Card Payments | 58,470 | 63,861 | 73,040 | 24.2 | 26.1 | 28.1 | | 4.1 Credit Cards | 35,610 | 47,741 | 60,238 | 18.3 | 21.1 | 23.6 | | 4.2 Debit Cards | 22,860 | 16,120 | 12,802 | 5.9 | 5.0 | 4.5 | | 5. Prepaid Payment Instruments | 78,775 | 70,254 | 98,699 | 2.8 | 2.2 | 2.9 | | 6. Paper-based Instruments | 6,632 | 6,095 | 5,588 | 72.1 | 71.1 | 71.5 | | Total Retail Payments (2+3+4+5+6) | 16,48,234 | 22,22,885 | 28,19,536 | 791.5 | 920.3 | 1,048.8 | | Total Payments (1+2+3+4+5+6) | 16,50,934 | 22,25,910 | 28,23,036 | 2,500.4 | 2,934.1 | 3,322.5 | | Total Digital Payments (1+2+3+4+5) | 16,44,302 | 22,19,815 | 28,17,448 | 2,428.2 | 2,863.0 | 3,251.0 | CCIL : Clearing Corporation of India Ltd. AePS : Aadhaar Enabled Payment System. Cr : Credit.
APBS : Aadhaar Payment Bridge System. ECS : Electronic Clearing Service. Dr : Debit.
IMPS : Immediate Payment Service. NACH : National Automated Clearing House. - : Nil/Negligible.
NEFT : National Electronic Funds Transfer. BHIM : Bharat Interface for Money.
NETC : National Electronic Toll Collection. RTGS : Real Time Gross Settlement.
Notes : 1. RTGS system includes customer and inter-bank transactions only.
2. Settlements of government securities and forex transactions are through CCIL. Government securities include outright trades and both legs of repo transactions and triparty repo transactions.
3. The figures for cards are for payment transactions at Point of Sale (PoS) terminals and online.
4. Figures in the columns might not add up to the total due to rounding off of numbers.
Source: RBI. | Digital Payments IX.6 During 2025-26, transactions processed through the Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) system increased by 15.7 per cent in volume terms and 12.9 per cent in value terms. Retail payment transactions recorded an increase of 26.8 per cent in volume terms and 14 per cent in value terms during the year (Table IX.1). IX.7 UPI continued to account for the largest share in retail payments, contributing nearly 86 per cent of total retail payment transactions during the year. UPI transactions increased by 30 per cent in volume terms and 20.6 per cent in value terms. Authorisation of Payment Systems IX.8 During the year, the Reserve Bank accorded authorisation to 23 non-bank Payment Aggregators (PAs), four non-bank prepaid payment instrument (PPI) issuers, and one Interoperable Mobile and Net Banking operator (Table IX.2). Agenda for 2025-26 IX.9 For 2025-26, the Department had outlined the following objectives: -
To assess evolving trends, adoption patterns and user preferences in India’s digital payments ecosystem through a nationwide ‘Survey on Usage of Digital Payments’ with a view to supporting evidence-based policy making (Paragraph IX.10); -
To strengthen safeguards against digital payment frauds by establishing a Digital Payment Intelligence Platform (DPIP), leveraging advanced technologies for real-time identification of suspicious transactions (Paragraph IX.11); | Table IX.2: Authorisation of Payment System Operators (PSOs) [end-March] | | (Number) | | Entity | 2025 | 2026 | | 1 | 2 | 3 | | A. Non-Banks - Authorised | | | | PPI Issuers$ | 48 | 50 | | Payment Aggregators#^$ | 51 | 68 | | WLA Operators | 5 | 5 | | Instant Money Transfer Service Provider | 1 | 1 | | BBPCU | 1 | 1 | | BBPOUs | 10 | 10 | | TReDS Platform Operators | 5 | 5 | | MTSS Operators | 7 | 7 | | Card Networks | 5 | 5 | | ATM Networks | 2 | 2 | | Financial Market Infrastructure | 1 | 1 | | Central Counterparties | 1 | 1 | | Retail Payments Organisation | 1 | 1 | | Interoperable Mobile and Net Banking | - | 1 | | B. Banks - Approved | | | | PPI Issuers | 63 | 63 | | BBPOUs | 46 | 46 | | ATM Networks | 3 | 3 | $: One entity surrendered its certificate of authorisation and one entity is under process of voluntary surrender of its certificate of authorisation during the period.
^: One entity surrendered its certificate of authorisation during the period.
#: The categories of PAs- Online, PAs- Cross-Border and PAs- Physical have been shown cumulatively as PAs as defined in Master Direction on Regulation of ayment Aggregator dated September 15, 2025.
Note: PSOs comprise PPI issuers, Payment Aggregators (PA)- cross-border, Money Transfer (in-bound only) Service Schemes (MTSS), White Label ATM (WLA) operators, Trade Receivables Discounting System (TReDS) platforms, Automated Teller Machine (ATM) networks, Instant Money Transfer Service Providers, Card Networks, Bharat Bill Payment Central Unit (BBPCU), Bharat Bill Payment Operating Units (BBPOUs), Central Counterparty (CCP) and Interoperable Mobile and Net Banking operator, besides the CCIL (The Clearing Corporation of India limited) and the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
Source: RBI. | -
To frame Payments Vision 2028, building on the achievements of earlier vision documents and providing further impetus to the digital payments’ ecosystem (Paragraph IX.12); and -
To work towards identifying frictions in processing of beneficiary leg of crossborder payments and framing suitable regulatory policy/action in consultation with the relevant stakeholders in India (Paragraph IX.13). Implementation Status IX.10 The Reserve Bank conducted a ‘Survey on Usage of Digital Payments’ covering more than 30,000 users and 10,000 merchants spread across the country. The survey indicated that 52 per cent of users had adopted digital payments, primarily driven by speed and convenience. Adoption varied across parameters like age, income, gender and location indicating scope for policy action. Among merchants, 67 per cent reported accepting digital payment modes, with a majority indicating a positive impact of the same on business operations. UPI emerged as the predominant payment mode both in terms of usage and acceptance. IX.11 The first phase of the DPIP prototype - namely, the establishment of the Smart Registry - has been operational since August 2025. IX.12 The Reserve Bank issued ‘Payments Vision 2028’ on March 27, 2026, outlining its strategic priorities for digital payments up to December 2028 (Box IX.1). IX.13 To examine frictions faced in timely credit of inward cross-border payments to beneficiary accounts, a draft circular was issued for public consultation on October 29, 2025. Inputs received from the public were examined, and circular was issued on April 9, 2026. Box IX.1 Payments Vision 2028 The Reserve Bank has been publishing Payment Vision documents periodically since 2001 to encourage innovation, and enhance the resilience, inclusivity, and user-friendliness of digital payments. To enhance safety in digital payments, measures such as enabling or disabling transactions across digital payment modes through issuer channels; developing a shared responsibility framework wherein both the customer’s bank (issuer) and the beneficiary’s bank jointly bear liability; reviewing the design and security features of cheques; and introducing a Cyber Key Risk Indicators (KRI) framework for non-bank payment system operators will be examined. In the area of cross-border payments, steps to enhance efficiency shall be explored, and detailed progress reports shall be published. Further, for promoting ease of doing business and convenience, streamlining the regulatory process for crossborder payment authorisation under the Payment and Settlement Systems (PSS) Act, 2007 and Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), 1999 shall be explored along with examining the case for recognising small payment system providers under a perpetual regulatory sandbox structure. Facilitating migration of payment instructions from one account to another and thereby enabling customers to change their bank accounts with minimal friction shall also be explored. To provide a fillip to research pertaining to digital payments, dedicated research and training capacity is proposed to be developed apart from facilitating enhanced access to domestic and cross-border payments data. To promote systemic stability and integrity, banking entities deemed to be playing a critical role in facilitating digital payments within the regulatory fold shall be explored along with examining the case for introducing a uniform Domestic Legal Entity Identifier (DLEI). Innovation in card payments space shall be encouraged and introduction of electronic cheques shall be attempted. Further, developing a framework to usher interoperability in TReDS shall be explored to promote inclusivity. Source: RBI. |
Major Developments Due Diligence of AePS Touchpoint Operators IX.14 To enhance the robustness of AePS, directions were issued for streamlining the process for onboarding of AePS touchpoint operators (ATOs) and strengthening risk management by the acquiring bank. Master Direction on Regulation of Payment Aggregator (PA) IX.15 The Master Direction on regulation of payment aggregators rationalised the categorisation of payment aggregators and prescribed enhanced due diligence norms for merchants. With this direction, all payment aggregation activities - online, physical, and cross-border - were brought under the regulatory ambit. Directions on Framework on Authentication Mechanism for Digital Payment Transactions IX.16 The directions were issued to encourage adoption of new authentication factors based on technological advancements. The directions also mandate validation of additional factor authentication (AFA) by card issuers in cross-border card-not-present transactions, whenever requested by overseas merchants or acquirers. Continuous Clearing and Settlement on Realisation in Cheque Truncation System (CTS) IX.17 Continuous clearing and settlement on realisation were implemented in CTS with Phase 1 going live on October 4, 2025. The initiative aims to expedite cheque clearing and reduce settlement risks by enabling continuous processing and faster credit to customer accounts. Under this, cheques are scanned, presented, and passed on a continuous basis during the presentation and confirmation sessions, instead of the batch processing approach followed earlier. Cheques that are positively confirmed or deemed approved are included for settlement, while negatively confirmed (dishonoured) cheques are not. Banks are required to credit customer accounts within one hour of settlement. Formation of Payment Regulatory Board (PRB) IX.18 Amendments to Section 3 of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007 (PSS Act, 2007) carried out vide the Finance Act, 2017, came into effect from May 9, 2025, with issuance of Gazette notification dated May 6, 2025, by Department of Financial Services (DFS), Government of India. Consequently, the erstwhile Board for Regulation and Supervision of Payment and Settlement Systems (BPSS), a committee of the Central Board of the Reserve Bank of India, has been replaced with the Payments Regulatory Board (PRB) from May 9, 2025. IX.19 The first meeting of PRB was held on January 5, 2026 in Mumbai under the Chairmanship of Shri Sanjay Malhotra, Governor, with members of the Board, viz., Shri S. Krishnan, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Shri Nagaraju Maddirala, Secretary, Department of Financial Services, Smt. Aruna Sundararajan, IAS (retired), Shri T. Rabi Sankar, Deputy Governor, and Shri Vivek Deep, Executive Director, attending the meeting. Global Outreach of Payment Systems IX.20 The Fast Payment System (FPS) bilateral linking of India’s UPI with Singapore’s PayNow for enabling real time cross-border personal remittances has been operational since February 2023. A few more collaborations for linking UPI with FPS of other countries are in progress. The multilateral FPS linking project for cross-border remittances under Project Nexus is also ongoing. The Reserve Bank continued to facilitate such bilateral and multilateral linkages between UPI and payment systems of other countries for cross-border remittances. The acceptance of UPI for QR-code based merchants is operational in Bhutan, France, Mauritius, Nepal, Qatar, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and the UAE. The scope of UPI accessibility varies across jurisdictions, with some implementations being nationwide and some currently enabled at specific locations. Efforts are ongoing to further expand UPI’s interoperability with comparable systems for enabling cross-border remittances and merchant payments. Deployment work of UPI like infrastructure is ongoing in Namibia and Peru, whereas the RuPay stack deployment for development of domestic card scheme has been completed in Mauritius and the UAE. This international expansion is being driven through strategic collaborations between NPCI4 International Payments Limited (NIPL) and overseas partners, including FPS operators, international network partners, and payment aggregators. Digital Payments Index (DPI) IX.21 The Reserve Bank’s DPI (RBI-DPI), computed semi-annually, continued to exhibit strong growth, reflecting rapid adoption, and deepening of digital payments across the country (Chart IX.1). Inspection of PSOs IX.22 During 2025-26, the Reserve Bank, under Section 16 of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007, carried out onsite inspections of 90 PSOs, viz., one financial market infrastructure (CCIL5), one retail payment organisation [NPCI which includes NPCI Bharat BillPay Ltd. (NBBL), RuPay Cards, NPCI BHIM Services Ltd. (NBSL), and NIPL], thirty six non-bank PPI issuers, thirty PAs, ten Bharat Bill Payment Operating Units (BBPOUs), four Card Payment Networks, four White Label ATM Operators (WLAOs), three Trade Receivables E-Discounting System (TReDS) platform providers and one ATM network provider. Agenda for 2026-27 IX.23 In 2026-27, the Department will focus on the following goals: -
The second phase of DPIP, involving the development of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) based risk-scoring platform, is currently under process and is envisaged to be completed during the year; -
To address the continuing challenge of authorised push payment frauds - where customers themselves initiate payments despite the various safeguards already in place such as mandatory additional factor of authentication (AFA), payee name lookup, card controls, tokenisation, and related measures, introduction of certain frictions in digital payment processes would be explored, with a view to enhancing customer protection and facilitating more effective recovery of funds; -
Switch on and switch off facility for domestic and international card transactions is available to customers which has helped customers exercise greater control. Introduction of a similar facility for all digital payment modes shall be explored along with a ‘kill switch’ to block all debits from the account in one stroke. This facility would help bolster consumer confidence and contribute towards controlling frauds in digital payment transactions; -
To reduce settlement risk and expedite transaction timelines through central bank money settlement, the Reserve Bank will explore granting direct RTGS and NEFT access to more categories of entities; -
To continue efforts to increase and deepen the penetration of digital payments, particularly in rural and semi-urban areas, to ensure last-mile connectivity and inclusive access; and -
To continue efforts to further expand the linkage of UPI with the fast payment systems of strategic partner jurisdictions, with a view to enabling seamless, secure, and cost-effective cross-border remittances as well as merchant payments (Utkarsh 2029). 3. DEPARTMENT OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (DIT) IX.24 DIT continued its endeavour to ensure the smooth functioning of all the IT systems and applications of the Reserve Bank and leverage the latest technology to provide the best-in-class ICT infrastructure. DIT made significant progress in modernising payment systems, strengthening digital infrastructure, and enhancing cybersecurity resilience. Several initiatives undertaken during the year strengthened scalability, interoperability, global integration and the technological foundation of India’s financial ecosystem. The Department’s initiative to introduce an exclusive ‘.bank.in’ domain, marked India as the first country globally to mandate a secure domain for the banking system thereby strengthening cybersecurity and reducing digital payment frauds. This effort was recognised by Central Banking, London, UK which honoured the Reserve Bank with the ‘Initiative of the Year 2026’ award. Agenda for 2025-26 IX.25 The Department had set out the following goals for 2025-26: -
Cloud Facility for the Financial Sector: Phase I of the Indian Financial Sector (IFS) cloud with basic services such as Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), Software-as- a-Service (SaaS), Container-as-a- Service (CaaS), Storage-as-a-Service (STaaS), and Public Internet Protocolas- a Service (IPaaS) would be initiated. Subsequently, work on Phase II of the cloud with advanced services like Application Programming Interface (API) management, application performance management, availability zone, and Development, Security and Operations (DevSecOps) will be initiated (Paragraph IX.26); -
e-Kuber 3.0: Development of future modules relating to functionalities such as primary auction, public debt management, Central Accounts Section and Centre for Financial Literacy (CFL) have been planned (Paragraph IX.27); -
Alternate Mechanism for Digital Payment System: The Reserve Bank will continue further innovation and development of alternate payment and messaging systems. The vision will be to develop payment and messaging solutions based on modern standards with advanced capabilities (Paragraph IX.28); and -
Enhancing Trust in the Financial Sector Through ‘.bank.in’ and ‘.fin.in’ Domains: To combat increased instances of fraud in digital payments, the Reserve Bank had announced introducing the ‘.bank.in’ exclusive internet domain for Indian banks. This initiative aims to reduce cybersecurity threats and malicious activities like phishing; and streamline secure financial services, thereby enhancing trust in digital banking and payment services. The Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology (IDRBT) will act as the exclusive registrar. The registration process for the banks will be initiated (Paragraph IX.29). Implementation Status IX.26 Beta phase of the IFS cloud was made live during the year, and nine entities have been onboarded onto the cloud. The work on phase I of the IFS cloud services is in advanced stage. IX.27 Development of CFL module was completed during the year. The development of other functionalities such as primary auction, public debt management and Central Accounts Section are underway. IX.28 The Reserve Bank has undertaken in-house development of an alternate payment and messaging system to support domestic as well as cross-border financial and non-financial messages. While the development of the Global Structured Financial Messaging System (SFMS) Hub for cross-border messaging has been completed, the development of the domestic messaging system is underway. The said system would be based on globally accepted ISO 20022 messaging standard and include all the functionalities offered by the existing centralised payment systems (CPS) along with other advanced functionalities. IX.29 As part of phase I of the initiative, all banks were advised to commence migration of their existing domains to ‘.bank.in’ and complete the process by October 31, 2025. By March 2026, all public sector banks, privates sector banks, small finance banks, payment banks, regional rural banks and local area banks had migrated their corporate website to ‘.bank.in’ domain. Currently, the remaining foreign banks and co-operative banks are in the process of migration. Major Initiatives Upgradation of NGRTGS IX.30 As part of its ongoing efforts to modernise payment infrastructure, the Reserve Bank upgraded NGRTGS from version 3.0 to 4.0. The enhanced system features a richer web interface, improved performance and security, and an integrated partitioning and data archival mechanism. Making NEFT Compliant to ISO 20022 Messaging Standards IX.31 The Reserve Bank’s National Electronic Fund Transfer (NEFT) system has been ISO 20022 compliant since 2023, with more than 230 member banks migrating through a converter solution. During the year, all member banks completed migration of their core banking solutions (CBS)/middleware to ISO 20022 messaging standard, enabling direct end-to-end transmission of ISO messages (without converters). This will provide structured and granular data, better global harmonisation and pave the way for interoperability across payment systems. Enhancements in e-Kuber IX.32 Continuous clearing and ‘on-realisation settlement’ of cheques under cheque truncation system (CTS), went live on October 4, 2025. With this change, the cheque clearing cycle has been reduced from the ‘T+1’ days to a few hours. IX.33 Previously, cheque inward clearing was handled at 19 regional offices (ROs), each requiring a separate infrastructure. This practice was overhauled by establishing a service branch at Chennai RO, thus, centralising the inward clearing operations. IX.34 A functionality was developed to automate the process of availing standing liquidity facility (SLF) by standalone primary dealers (SPDs). Second Greenfield Data Centre and Enterprise Computing and Cyber Security Training Institute (ECCTI) IX.35 The construction of the second greenfield data centre and ECCTI has been completed and all statutory approvals are in place. Agenda for 2026-27 IX.36 The Department’s goals for 2026-27 are set out below: -
Operationalisation of Next-Generation Core Banking Solution (e-Kuber 3.0) [Utkarsh 2029]: The modules pertaining to government accounts are under development and expected to go live/ migrate from e-Kuber 2.0 in a phased manner; -
Development of a Common Bank-wide Enterprise Platform: e-Kuber 3.0 will be the first payment application to be integrated with the platform and phased migration of existing applications to the platform will be planned. All new application development initiatives will be based on core platform components augmented by specific functional requirements; -
Implementation of Recommendations of the Working Group to Study Mechanism for Sharing Data between Reserve Bank and State Governments: A Working Group (WG) was constituted as part of the 34th Conference of State Finance Secretaries (SFS), to study the mechanism of data sharing between Reserve Bank and state governments. The implementation of the recommendations of the WG is underway; -
Operationalisation of Global SFMS Hub: To further internationalisation of the Indian Rupee (INR) and facilitate cross-border payments in local currencies, the Reserve Bank has developed Global SFMS Hub – a cross-border messaging system, built on globally accepted ISO 20022 standards. Bilateral collaborations are underway with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for interlinking their financial messaging systems with Global SFMS Hub. Further steps will be taken to increase its adoption by onboarding more domestic/foreign participants; -
Development and Operationalisation of the Alternate Payment System (Utkarsh 2029): To reduce external dependencies and provide increased flexibility in carrying out system related changes/enhancements, the Reserve Bank has started development of an in-house alternate payment system - a comprehensive solution encompassing all the functionalities of the existing centralised payment systems along with other advanced functionalities; -
Building the Foundations of a Future-Ready AI Ecosystem in Reserve Bank (Utkarsh 2029): The Reserve Bank will embark on development of an institution-grade AI platform, designed to serve as a scalable, interoperable and secure technological backbone for AI applications across the organisation. The platform will feature purpose-built large and small language models that are trained for the specialised needs of central-banking functions; -
Unified Workflow Portal: Over the years, the Reserve Bank has ensured digital transformation through multiple web-facing and internal portals/applications to support its various functions. While these portals have enabled convenience and accessibility, they largely function in silos, resulting in fragmented user experience, duplication of data and processes, integration challenges and higher maintenance overheads. To address these challenges, consolidation of the portals/applications will be taken up through the development of a unified workflow portal that will standardise user experience, authentication, data integration and workflow capabilities; and -
Enhancing Trust in the Financial Sector through ‘.fin.in’ Domain: To further strengthen efforts in combating digital frauds, it is planned to have an exclusive internet domain, viz., ‘.fin.in’ for other non-bank entities in the financial sector. This initiative will further enhance the resilience and trust of digital financial services offered by entities across the broader financial sector. Reserve Bank Information Technology Private Ltd. (ReBIT) IX.37 ReBIT expanded its institutional strength to over 1,200 professionals, enhancing its enterprise-scale capability to deliver secure, resilient and future ready applications for the Reserve Bank. In September 2025, it also published three global standards and best practices handbooks covering enterprise architecture, AI/ML and cybersecurity. RBI Enterprise Platform IX.38 ReBIT played a pivotal role in designing, developing and deploying the enterprise platform at the Reserve Bank’s data centres, delivering mission-critical applications for diverse stakeholders. Major projects undertaken during the year include upgradations to PRAVAAH6, Samanvay (a meeting management solution under the lead bank scheme), and DICGC’s7 website with an AI-enabled FAQ8 chatbot. Cybersecurity IX.39 In cybersecurity, ReBIT strengthened the security posture by deploying advanced threat-hunting platforms at the Reserve Bank’s security operations centre and ensuring adherence to secure software development lifecycle practices for all applications under development. System Audit IX.40 ReBIT continued to support the Reserve Bank in conducting IT and cybersecurity examinations of regulated entities, facilitating IT and thematic examinations, quick cybersecurity spot assessments, compliance evaluations and system audit assessments. Agenda for 2026-27 IX.41 As part of the next year’s agenda, ReBIT will support DIT in operationalising the next-generation core banking solution (e-Kuber 3.0), rolling out additional applications on the enterprise platform and advancing new computerisation initiatives pertaining to various departments of the Reserve Bank. These initiatives will enhance scalability, operational efficiency and technological resilience, aligning with the Reserve Bank’s strategic roadmap for consolidation and modernising IT infrastructure. Indian Financial Technology and Allied Services (IFTAS) IX.42 IFTAS continued to play a pivotal role in driving digital transformation across India’s financial infrastructure. Through strategic initiatives and technological modernisation, IFTAS strengthened core payment systems, ensured uninterrupted and secure financial services and laid the foundation for a secure, scalable, and future-ready financial ecosystem. Communication Network IX.43 During the year, the Reserve Bank, through IFTAS, successfully executed the transition from INFINET 2.0 to 3.0 and INTERNET 1.0 to 2.0 upgrading technology, bandwidth, and overall service delivery using SD-WAN9 technology for better traffic engineering, application visibility and enhanced security. Payment and Messaging Systems IX.44 IFTAS commenced development of the alternate payment system (APS), integrating NEFT, RTGS, and SFMS, which is currently undergoing functional and performance testing. Concurrently, IFTAS developed Global SFMS Hub, a secure, ISO 20022 standard-compliant cross-border messaging platform, which is presently in closed user group (CUG) testing with member banks in India and designated central banks of other countries. Further, as technology partner for CCIL IFSC Limited10, IFTAS launched the foreign currency settlement system (FCSS) in October 2025, enabling near real-time foreign currency settlement in GIFT11-IFSC, bolstering India’s global financial competitiveness and autonomy. Indian Financial Sector Cloud IX.45 IFTAS was entrusted with building the Indian Financial Sector (IFS) cloud to provide secure, cost-effective cloud-based services and address challenges related to modern technology adoption, governance and data localisation. The work on phase I of the IFS cloud services was initiated during the year. Beta version of IFS cloud with minimum viable product services was launched, and nine entities have since been onboarded to the system. Agenda for 2026-27 IX.46 IFTAS will implement phase I of the IFS cloud with basic services and initiate work on phase II, which will introduce advanced capabilities. IFTAS, in collaboration with the Reserve Bank, will work towards the launch of the alternate payment system (APS) and Global SFMS Hub, further strengthening India’s financial infrastructure and global integration. 4. CONCLUSION IX.47 During 2025-26, the Reserve Bank continued to enhance the efficiency, security and accessibility of payment systems, while expanding global outreach, promoting digital adoption and strengthening cyber resilience. Efforts to foster innovation, mitigate operational risks and maintain a robust ICT infrastructure for seamless IT operations were sustained. Going forward, the focus will be on reducing settlement risk and expedite transactions, developing an institution-grade AI platform to provide a secure and scalable backbone for AI applications, operationalising e-Kuber 3.0 and extending the exclusive ‘.fin.in’ domain to non-bank entities.
Index |