What Happened
- The Reserve Bank of India released Payments Vision 2028, providing strategic direction for the development of India's payment and settlement systems through 2028.
- The document succeeds Payments Vision 2025 and was reviewed at the inaugural meeting of the newly constituted Payments Regulatory Board, chaired by RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra.
- The Vision 2028 is built on the foundational five pillars framework and introduces new priorities including a shared liability framework for digital payment frauds and an open card ecosystem.
- Security and data privacy have been identified as the topmost priority in the new vision document.
- The Payments Regulatory Board was constituted following an amendment to the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007, which came into effect on May 9, 2025.
- The Vision aims to expand UPI's reach internationally and build India as a global leader in digital payments.
Static Topic Bridges
Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007 (PSS Act)
The Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007 received Presidential assent on December 20, 2007, and came into force on August 12, 2008. It provides the legal framework for regulation and supervision of payment systems in India by the RBI. The Act empowers RBI to authorise, regulate, and supervise payment systems and establishes the Board for Regulation and Supervision of Payment and Settlement Systems. The 2025 amendment to the Act constituted the new Payments Regulatory Board, replacing the earlier Board for Regulation and Supervision of Payment and Settlement Systems (BPSS).
- Enacted: December 2007, in force from August 12, 2008
- Regulator: Reserve Bank of India (Department of Payment and Settlement Systems — DPSS)
- 2025 Amendment: Constituted the Payments Regulatory Board (effective May 9, 2025)
- Covers: Authorisation, regulation, oversight, and penalties for payment system operators
Connection to this news: Payments Vision 2028 was reviewed at the inaugural meeting of the Payments Regulatory Board — the new regulatory body created under the 2025 amendment to the PSS Act, giving Vision 2028 a stronger statutory foundation than its predecessor.
UPI and India's Digital Payments Architecture
Unified Payments Interface (UPI), launched by NPCI in April 2016, has become the world's most widely used real-time payment system by transaction volume. India processed over 17 billion UPI transactions per month in 2025, representing the largest share of global real-time payment transactions. Payments Vision 2025 (the predecessor document) was anchored on five pillars: Integrity, Inclusion, Innovation, Institutionalisation, and Internationalisation, with the core theme of "4Es — E-payments for Everyone, Everywhere, Every time." Vision 2028 builds on this framework while raising ambitions for international expansion.
- UPI launched: April 2016 by NPCI
- UPI transaction volume: Over 17 billion/month (2025 estimates)
- Vision 2025 pillars: Integrity, Inclusion, Innovation, Institutionalisation, Internationalisation
- International expansion target: UPI linkages with 20+ countries by 2028-29
- Predecessor document: Payments Vision 2025 (covered up to 2025)
Connection to this news: Vision 2028 directs India's payments architecture through 2028, with UPI internationalisation and expansion of India's payment rails globally as central goals — a direct continuation and scaling of Vision 2025 ambitions.
Consumer Protection in Digital Payments
The rapid growth of digital payments in India has been accompanied by a rise in unauthorised transaction fraud and digital payment scams. The RBI's proposed shared liability framework under Vision 2028 would hold both the customer's bank and the beneficiary bank responsible for losses from unauthorised digital transactions, rather than placing the entire burden on consumers. The proposed switch-on/switch-off facility would allow users to enable or disable specific digital payment modes, providing granular control as a fraud prevention measure.
- Framework type: Shared liability — both originating and beneficiary banks bear responsibility
- Proposed feature: Switch-on/switch-off for all digital payment modes per user preference
- Open card ecosystem: Aims to allow cards to work across multiple networks, expanding consumer choice
- Digital payment fraud in India: A growing concern as transaction volumes cross billions per month
- Existing protection: RBI's 2017 circular on customer liability in unauthorised electronic banking transactions provided limited liability up to ₹5,000-10,000 depending on reporting time
Connection to this news: The shared liability framework and switch-on/switch-off facility are headline proposals in Vision 2028, directly addressing consumer protection gaps that have become more urgent as digital payment fraud incidents increased alongside growth in payment volumes.
Financial Inclusion and Payment Systems
Expanding access to formal financial services has been a core policy objective since the launch of Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) in 2014. RBI's successive Payments Vision documents have explicitly targeted bringing unbanked and underbanked populations into the digital payments fold. India Stack — comprising Aadhaar, UPI, and DigiLocker — forms the interoperable infrastructure enabling financial inclusion. The open card ecosystem envisaged in Vision 2028 would allow debit and credit cards to be used on multiple payment networks, reducing dependency on single-network systems and expanding acceptance at smaller merchants.
- PMJDY launched: August 28, 2014 — over 53 crore accounts opened as of 2025
- India Stack: Aadhaar + UPI + DigiLocker (interoperable digital public infrastructure)
- Open card ecosystem: Cards operable on multiple networks, not tied to one (e.g., RuPay, Visa, Mastercard)
- Current RuPay share: Over 60% of debit cards in India; open ecosystem would enhance interoperability
- Target: Ensuring payment infrastructure reaches rural, remote, and low-income segments
Connection to this news: Vision 2028's open card ecosystem and internationalisation goals are both inclusion and innovation plays — domestically they expand affordable payment options, and internationally they position India's payment systems as global-standard infrastructure.
Key Facts & Data
- Payments Vision 2028 released by RBI in March 2026
- Succeeds Payments Vision 2025
- Reviewed at inaugural Payments Regulatory Board meeting (January 5, 2026, Mumbai)
- Payments Regulatory Board constituted under PSS Act, 2007 amendment (effective May 9, 2025)
- RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra chairs the Payments Regulatory Board
- Five pillars of Vision 2025 (continued): Integrity, Inclusion, Innovation, Institutionalisation, Internationalisation
- Core theme: "4Es — E-payments for Everyone, Everywhere, Every time"
- Top priority in Vision 2028: Security and data privacy
- Key new proposals: Shared liability framework for digital frauds, open card ecosystem, switch-on/switch-off for payment modes
- UPI internationalisation target: Expand to 20+ countries by 2028-29
- PSS Act enacted: December 2007; in force August 12, 2008