EXPLAINER | What the RBI’s new banking ‘Amendment Directions 2026’ mean for you

RBI has changed the rules on how banks decide and display interest rates on deposits, especially big “bulk” deposits, to make things more transparent and fair for customers, while giving banks some controlled flexibility for large tickets.

These changes apply from October 1, 2026, and amend the 2025 “Interest Rate on Deposits” directions for all major categories of banks.

Overall changes by RBI

On July 30, 2026, RBI issued a set of “Amendment Directions” on interest rates on deposits for six types of banks: commercial banks, small finance banks, regional rural banks, payments banks, local area banks and urban co‑operative banks.

These final directions came after RBI had put out draft amendments on June 5, 2026, invited comments up to June 20, and then incorporated feedback into the final version.

The broad goal is two‑fold:

(1) give banks more flexibility in pricing large rupee deposits, and

(2) ensure that interest rates are disclosed in a uniform, transparent way

...so customers are treated fairly and can see rates clearly on bank websites.

Common change 1: Rates must match what’s on the website

For all these bank types, RBI stated that the interest rate a bank actually pays on deposits must strictly match the schedule of interest rates which the bank has already published on its website in advance.

No more “special” rates that are different from what is publicly displayed. For instance, commercial bank directions now say that interest rates on deposits, including bulk deposits, have to be strictly as per the schedule disclosed on the bank’s website.

Almost similar wording was used by the RBI for regional rural banks, urban co‑operative banks, local area banks and small finance banks.

For payments banks, the clause said interest rates payable on deposits shall be strictly as per the schedule disclosed in advance on the website.

Common change 2: Same rate for everyone for the same product

RBI also tightened the rule that the interest rate cannot differ from branch to branch or person to person for the same type of deposit made on the same day.

The amended clause (for commercial banks, RRBs, UCBs, SFBs and local area banks) stated 5that the interest rates offered on deposits, including bulk deposits, must be uniform across all branches and all customers, and there must be no discrimination between one deposit and another deposit of similar amount accepted on the same date at any of the bank’s offices. For instance, if you and another customer put the same amount in the same type of deposit in the same bank on the same day, you both must get the same interest rate, whether you go to a city branch or a rural branch.

New rule: Daily 10 am publishing of bulk deposit rates

The RBI added a very specific timing rule for bulk deposit rates on the website for most bank categories (commercial banks, small finance banks, regional rural banks, local area banks and urban co‑operative banks).

The amended clause stated that interest rates payable on deposits, including bulk deposits, must be as per the schedule on the website, and in addition, the interest rates on bulk deposits must be disclosed on the bank’s website at 10 am each business day, with a grace time of 10 minutes, i.e., latest by 10.10 am.

So, on every working day, by 10.10 in the morning, the bank has to put up the current bulk deposit rates on its website, so big depositors can see the official rate before placing funds.

This 10 am rule did not appear in the payments bank amendment, which only talked about matching the website schedule without the daily bulk‑rate timing requirement.

Extra flexibility for bulk deposits

For commercial banks and small finance banks, RBI introduced an extra clause, giving them limited flexibility to offer different interest rates on bulk deposits based on how “sticky” or “risky” those deposits are under the Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR) framework.

In the section on domestic rupee deposits, a new sub‑paragraph (10(4) for commercial banks and 9(4) for small finance banks) states that a bank may offer differential interest rates on bulk deposits by considering the differential run‑off rates applicable to deposits or unsecured wholesale funding under the LCR framework, as specified in the respective Asset Liability Management Directions of 2025.

Similarly, in the section on rupee deposits of non‑residents, a new clause (27(3)(iv) for commercial banks and 26(3)(iv) for SFBs) allows the same LCR‑based differential pricing for bulk deposits from non‑residents.

So, the RBI is using the LCR “run‑off rate” as a technical measure of how likely a deposit can be withdrawn quickly in a stress situation. What the apex bank meant was that if the regulation classified some bulk deposits as more stable and some as less stable, commercial banks and SFBs can reflect that difference in the interest rates they offer on those bulk deposits, while still following the general transparency and non‑discrimination rules within each category.

When do these changes apply

Together, each amendment direction stated that it will be called “Second Amendment Directions, 2026” (or “Amendment Directions, 2026” for payments banks) to the respective 2025 Interest Rate on Deposits Directions. All of them specify that they will come into effect from October 1, 2026.

What this means for an ordinary depositor

If you are a retail customer, the main effects you will feel are around transparency and fairness, not day‑to‑day rate changes.

Banks now must post their interest rate schedules on their websites in advance and then actually pay you strictly according to those posted rates for that product and date.

For similar deposits on the same date, they cannot quietly give a higher rate to one person and a lower rate to another just because of branch, relationship, or negotiation, at least within the same deposit category and amount bracket.

If you are placing a large, bulk deposit (as a company, institution, or high‑net‑worth customer), you can now see the official bulk deposit rates that banks publish each business day by 10.10 am (for all relevant bank types), and you know that the rate you get should match the published schedule for that day and deposit category.

For commercial banks and small finance banks, if your bulk deposit falls into a more “stable” LCR bucket, the bank may offer a different rate compared to another bulk deposit in a riskier LCR bucket, but within each bucket it must treat similar customers consistently.

What this means for banks

Operationally, banks must now ensure that:

• Their website rate sheets are accurate, complete, and updated on time, especially the bulk deposit rates every business day by 10.10 am for the bank types where this applies.
• Their core banking systems, branch staff and digital channels all use the same approved rate schedule, so no branch offers a different rate than what is on the website for the same product and date.

For commercial and small finance banks, treasury and ALM teams also get a tool to align pricing of big deposits with the LCR liquidity risk treatment—so deposits that are more stable from an LCR perspective can be priced differently from those considered more volatile, within regulatory guardrails.