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RBI KYC Compliane India
UPDATED MARCH 2026
INDIA COMPLIANCE GUIDE

RBI KYC Compliance India 2026: The Complete Master Direction Guide

Everything regulated banks, NBFCs and fintechs need to meet RBI's KYC Master Direction — CDD, Video KYC V-CIP, periodic KYC risk tiers, AML/PEP, CKYC, and the August 2025 digital amendments. Implemented by eKYCNow from ₹10/verification.

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Who Must Comply with RBI KYC Norms in India?

Quick Answer
All entities regulated by the Reserve Bank of India must comply with the RBI KYC Master Direction. This includes all scheduled commercial banks, cooperative banks, NBFCs, payment banks, small finance banks, prepaid payment instrument issuers, and account aggregators operating in India.

The RBI KYC Master Direction (formally Master Direction – Know Your Customer (KYC) Direction, 2016, last amended August 2025) is the authoritative KYC regulation for every entity the Reserve Bank of India oversees. It implements India's obligations under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) and aligns with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) 40 Recommendations.

Entity Type
Regulator
KYC Framework
Key Obligation
Scheduled Commercial Banks
RBI
RBI Master Direction (full)
CDD, V-CIP, CKYC, periodic KYC
NBFCs
RBI
RBI Master Direction (full)
CDD, V-CIP, CKYC, AML
Payment Banks & SFBs
RBI
RBI Master Direction (full)
CDD, CKYC (mandatory)
Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPI)
RBI
RBI Master Direction + PPI Guidelines
Min-KYC → Full-KYC upgrade path
Account Aggregators
RBI
RBI Master Direction
CDD for FIU onboarding
Insurance Companies
IRDAI
IRDAI KYC norms (aligned with RBI)
Policyholder KYC, CKYC upload
Stockbrokers / AMCs
SEBI
SEBI KYC norms (aligned with RBI)
Investor KYC, CKYC upload
Crypto / VDA Exchanges
FIU-IND
PMLA Rules (KYC equivalent)
CDD, AML, STR reporting

Non-bank entities (fintechs, lending platforms, payment aggregators) without a direct RBI licence must comply through their banking partner's KYC programme or by becoming a KYC Registration Agency (KRA) under SEBI rules. See the full eKYC India guide for how digital verification fits into this framework.

Customer Due Diligence (CDD) Framework: SDD, CDD & EDD

Quick Answer
RBI mandates three tiers of due diligence: Simplified Due Diligence (SDD) for low-risk products, standard Customer Due Diligence (CDD) for all customers, and Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD) for high-risk customers such as Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs) and cross-border transactions.

The RBI KYC Master Direction establishes a risk-based approach (RBA) to customer identification. Regulated entities must classify every customer and product into a risk tier and apply the corresponding level of diligence. The August 2025 amendment expanded the definition of acceptable Officially Valid Documents (OVDs) and clarified digital CDD equivalence.

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