In what should come as a relief to tech firms, start-ups and small businesses running on a subscription model, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today relaxed its rule on recurring payments.

The central bank on Wednesday raised the limit for such payments to Rs 15,000 from Rs 5,000 earlier. This means that recurring payments up to Rs 15,000 will not require an additional factor of authentication (AFA) like OTP.

“Requests have been received from stakeholders to increase the limit under the framework to facilitate payments of larger value like subscriptions, insurance premia, education fees ,” the RBI said.

Meanwhile, the RBI on Wednesday doubled the maximum loan amount that a co-operative bank can lend to an individual to up to Rs 1.40 crore in view of the surge in housing prices.

The guidelines governing the maximum permissible loan limits were last reviewed over a decade ago.

To further augment customer convenience and leverage the benefits available under the framework, it is proposed to enhance the limit from Rs 5,000 to Rs 15,000 per recurring payment,’’ the RBI said in its statement on developmental and regulatory policies, which accompany its monetary policy statement.

It may be recalled that with effect from October 1, 2021, the RBI had introduced norms to make e-mandates (standing instructions) more secure on various kinds of subscriptions.

The Reserve Bank on Wednesday doubled the maximum loan amount that a co-operative bank can lend to an individual to up to Rs 1.40 crore in view of the surge in housing prices. The guidelines governing the maximum permissible loan limits for co-operative lenders were last reviewed over a decade ago.