The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued a notification in September 2021 on the changes to the usage mechanism of credit and debit cards by the individuals in India.

This extension follows the feedback provided by stakeholders to the RBI, citing issues related to implementation of the framework in respect of guest checkout transactions. 

Through various subsequent notifications post September 2021, the RBI has revised its guidelines on online data storage, affecting digital payments compliance for card issuers and online merchants.

The RBI has encouraged the fintech industry to utilize this time extension for:

• Facilitating all stakeholders to be ready for handling tokenized transactions
• Processing transactions based on tokens
• Implementing an alternate mechanism
• Handling all post-transaction activities (including chargeback handling and settlement) related to guest checkout transactions, that currently involve /require storage of CoF data by entities other than card issuers and card networks
• Creating public awareness about the process of creating tokens and using them to undertake transactions