Auto debit set to fail from October 1, here is what you need to do

Auto-Debit Rule : Auto debit norms are changing, so from October 1^st your auto-debit instructions for payments of utility bills, insurance premiums, credit card bills and even your OTT subscription may not go through. According to the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) new guidelines the new auto-debit norms will be in effect from the start of October.

Remind me please...

Any recurring transactions debited automatically from debit, credit, or prepaid cards will require approval before the transaction goes through starting October 1. The bank will have to notify customers via SMS, email, or both, and can make the transfer only after customers approve the same.

So what do I need to do?

Options are simple and only two. The first is to manually make a one-time payment every month on the merchant site , the second option is to use the net banking portal to set up auto-pay for utilities and other services that require recurring payments directly from the savings or current account instead of the card.

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Why is my bank not making this easier?

Well, banks are in talks to develop a platform where e-mandates can be accessed by all the stakeholders but this is still work in progress.

So what can I do to make sure all payments don't fail

Visit your banks website on October 1 it will surely have a section to give e-mandates for payments. Check the list of merchants that the bank has enabled for additional factor authentication (AFA) and register afresh with each merchant whose service you use to permit them to continue charging your card for recurring payments.