The Reserve Bank of India has asked banks to expedite cross-border payments. In guidelines issued today, the RBI stated that it has observed that several banks rely on end-of-day statements of the nostro account to confirm and reconcile receipts in the nostro accounts, resulting in a delay in crediting funds to the beneficiary's account. To expedite this process, the RBI has asked banks to frequently undertake reconciliation and confirmation of credit in the nostro account, either on a near real-time basis or at periodic intervals. It also stated that the reconciliation interval should normally not exceed one hour.
The RBI has stated that banks shall endeavor to credit inward payments received during foreign exchange market hours to the beneficiary's account on the same business day and credit inward payments received after market hours on the next business day, subject to compliance with the existing FEMA and other regulatory requirements. The guidelines also state that banks shall inform their customers of the receipt of cross-border inward transactions immediately upon receipt of the inward message. Messages received after the close of bank operating hours shall be communicated to customers immediately at the start of the next business day. The RBI has also asked banks to provide a digital interface to their customers to facilitate foreign exchange transactions, including the submission of documents or information and the monitoring of transactions.