Several changes take effect starting Friday, August 1, across India’s payments, banking and credit card systems. These include longer trading hours for market repo and TREP operations, new daily limits for UPI, the withdrawal of complimentary insurance on select SBI credit cards, and the enforcement of key sections of the Banking Laws (Amendment) Act, 2025.
1 / 5Repo and TREP trading to run longer: The Reserve Bank of India has extended trading hours for market repo and Tri-Party Repo (TREP) operations by one hour. Trading will now run from 9 AM to 4 PM, instead of closing at 3 PM. This aims to improve liquidity and provide more flexibility in short-term money markets. Trading hours for government securities, foreign exchange, and interest rate derivatives remain unchanged. The call money market had already extended its hours to 9 AM–7 PM in July.
2 / 5SBI cards to stop free air accident cover: SBI Cards has discontinued complimentary air accident insurance on multiple co-branded credit cards. Cards like the UCO Bank SBI Card ELITE, Central Bank of India SBI Card ELITE, PSB SBI Card ELITE, KVB SBI Card ELITE, KVB SBI Signature Card, and Allahabad Bank SBI Card ELITE lose their ₹1 crore cover. A ₹50 lakh cover on other PRIME and Platinum variants with partner banks also ends. This comes shortly after SBI Card revised its billing and payment rules on July 15.
3 / 5UPI to see daily limits and new AutoPay slots: The National Payments Corporation of India’s new UPI rules also come into effect. Users can check their bank balance only 50 times per day per UPI app. Linked account checks are capped at 25 times daily. AutoPay transactions will run in fixed slots during the day instead of random timings, which should help reduce peak-hour load. Payment service providers must also delay repeated status checks to reduce server strain. NPCI has directed all banks and UPI apps to comply and submit an audit by August 31.
4 / 5Sections of new Banking Law to kick in: Sections 3, 4, 5, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20 of the Banking Laws (Amendment) Act, 2025 take effect today. These raise the minimum paid-up capital for banks from ₹5 lakh to ₹2 crore, extend director tenure for co-operative banks to 10 years, and align auditor appointments with the Companies Act, 2013. They also require SBI and other nationalised banks to transfer unclaimed dividends and unpaid amounts to the Investor Education and Protection Fund (IEPF).
5 / 5These updates aim to modernise banking rules, protect depositors’ funds, and reduce pressure on India’s payment systems.