FASTags, IMPS, & Pension Rules: What’s New in Finance from February 1

New Delhi: In a significant financial development coinciding with the presentation of the Interim Budget by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, various regulatory changes have come into effect, impacting investors, account holders, and individuals involved in financial transactions.

1. FASTags KYC Requirement: The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has notified that FASTags without completed Know Your Customer (KYC) will be inoperative for electronic toll payments on highways from February 1. Car owners were required to complete KYC by January 31, 2024. FASTags facilitate non-stop toll plaza transactions for vehicles.

2. IMPS Rule Simplification: The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has streamlined fund transfers through Immediate Payment Service (IMPS). Users can now transfer and receive funds using a mobile number + bank name on all IMPS channels, with a transaction limit of ₹5 lakh. Compliance with this directive was mandated for member banks by January 31, 2024.

3. Sovereign Gold Bond 2023-24 Series 4: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is set to issue the final tranche of Sovereign Gold Bonds (SGBs) for the 2023-24 series in February 2024. The scheme, announced in December 2023, opens on February 12 and closes on February 16.

4. New Pension Rules: The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) introduced changes to the National Pension System (NPS) withdrawal rules in its December 2023 master circular. Effective February 1, 2024, the revised guidelines allow partial withdrawals for specific purposes, including higher education expenses, marriage expenses for the subscriber’s children, and the purchase or construction of a residential property.

5. Email Authentication Changes: Organizations sending bulk emails to Google and Yahoo accounts will face new authentication requirements from February 1. Applicable to domains sending over 5,000 daily emails, senders’ servers must be DMARC compliant, and spam rates must remain below 0.3%.