Under this, if you make a transaction of more than Rs 10,000 through IMPS, there may be a delay of one hour in reaching the amount. The purpose of this 'cooling period' is to protect customers from fraud. has sought suggestions on this proposal till May 8, 2026, after which final guidelines can be issued in this regard.
RBI asked for suggestions
In simple words, in the era of Digital India, where we send money anywhere in the blink of an eye, now there is going to be a slight 'brake' on this speed. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is preparing to implement a very strict and new rule to stop the rapidly increasing online fraud in the country. Under this new proposal, if you send more than Rs 10,000 to any person through UPI or IMPS, the money will not be credited immediately. Instead, a 'cooling period' of 1 hour may be applied to that transaction. This simply means that the person to whom you are sending money may have to wait for up to an hour to receive the amount. RBI has sought suggestions on this scheme till May 8, 2026, after which it can be finalized and implemented.
Why is this rule necessary?
The biggest reason behind this strict step is the huge loss caused by online fraud. In the year 2025 alone, people in India have lost more than Rs 22,000 crore due to digital fraud. Statistics show that even though transactions larger than Rs 10,000 may be less in number, about 98.5% of the total value of fraud comes from this category. Often fraudsters get money transferred immediately by 'social engineering' i.e. by scaring or luring people. The purpose of this delay of 1 hour (Holding Period) is to give time to the victim to think and understand. If someone realizes that he has been cheated, he will be able to cancel his transaction within that one hour and save his hard-earned money from being lost.
There may be more changes
Not just a break of 1 hour, RBI is going to make some other big changes for security. For the safety of the elderly, a rule is being made that if people above 70 years of age transfer more than Rs 50,000, then the permission of their trusted person will be required. Also, banks may be instructed that if there is a sudden deposit of more than Rs 25 lakh in an individual or small business account, the bank should credit it only after complete verification. Apart from this, a 'Kill Switch' option will also be provided, through which any customer will be able to immediately switch off all their digital services like UPI, Net Banking and Cards by pressing a single button if they suspect fraud. Although this may cause immediate inconvenience to some people, it can prove to be a revolutionary step in keeping your deposits safe.