New RBI move: This will save you from online frauds, keep money safe

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday not just announced a 35 bps repo rate cut but also announced a big decision that will help keep bank customers safe from fraudsters. The central bank has announced to create a Central Payments Fraud Information Registry, for which a detailed framework will be put in place by the end of October. You may be wondering as to why the RBI wants to create a Central Payments Fraud Information Registry. Well, this will keep you updated about the latest methods used by fraudsters to dupe you of your hard-earned money. As a result, hence, it will help you protect your money. 

Why new registry?

The RBI said in its 'Statement on Developmental and Regulatory Policies', "At present, there is a mechanism in place for banks to report all banking frauds to the Central Fraud Monitoring Cell of the Reserve Bank. With the digital payment ecosystem making substantial progress in terms of growth of payment infrastructure as well as volume and value of digital payment transactions, fraud risk monitoring and management by the stakeholders have assumed importance. It has always been the endeavour of the Reserve Bank to improve the confidence of customers in the payment systems."

"The Payment System Vision 2021 also envisages a framework for collecting data on frauds in the payment systems. In order to carry forward these efforts and ensure quick and systemic responses, it is proposed to facilitate the creation of a Central Payment Fraud Registry that will track these frauds. Payment system participants will be provided access to this registry for near-real-time fraud monitoring. The aggregated fraud data will be published to educate customers on emerging risks. A detailed framework in this regard will be put in place by the end of October 2019," it added. 

Repo rate cut impact

The repo rate cut decision of the RBI was hailed across sectors of the economy. It is expected that the RBI decision will boost NBFC lending business and help arrest a perceptible slowdown in the economy. 

“Loan disbursals from NBFCs were continuously falling in the past few months and slowdown in the sector has been impacting the overall economy. The rate cut and the liquidity infusion by RBI will give further impetus to NBFC lending business. The growth in the sector had slowed down drastically which we expect to grow at a better pace in coming days post the policy revision.  . With the festive season about to start the announcement has come at a right time which will benefit both the NBFCs as well as their customers,” Ketan Patel, CEO, CASHe, said.

Chandra Shekhar Ghosh, MD & CEO, Bandhan Bank said, “The unorthodox 35 bps cut in the repo rate came as a pleasant surprise. It indicates the RBI’s comfort on the inflation front and commitment to support growth recovery. The rate cut is expected to foster credit growth, especially for NBFCs. Given India’s prevailing high real interest rates, more cuts remain likely in the coming months.”

Sampath Reddy, Chief Investment Officer, Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company, said, the RBI’s focus is on reviving private investment, and transmission of the policy rates would help to bring down cost of capital for corporates and aid to revive the investment cycle. 

RBI went for a larger-than-expected interest rate cut of 35 basis point for the first time since Apr-12 taking the repo rate to a nearly a nine-year low at 5.40%. This move comes at a time when global economic activity has slowed down and geo-political uncertainty have become two of the major concerns for the nation. This is a welcome move as it will give a boost to the economy and retail lending sector, said Gaurav Chopra, Founder & CEO, IndiaLends.

Other developmental measures announced such as increasing credit flow to the priority sector – permitting banks to on-lend through NBFCs to Agriculture, Micro & Small Enterprises and housing, will provide a positive push to overall lending in the market and will help boost economic growth, he added.