Home › Circulars › RBI/2009-10/215

RTGS: Beneficiary Account Number Now Mandatory

No longer current — withdrawn, no replacement on file yet

Source: Reserve Bank of India · RBI/2009-10/215 · issued 11 Nov 2009 · ~1 min read

Quick answerRBI has advised that all RTGS messages must include a beneficiary account number in the correct field. This change, advised in a circular issued on November 11, 2009, aims to improve Straight Through Processing and reduce transaction failures.

What changed

Previously, RTGS messages could be sent without a beneficiary account number or with the number in an incorrect field. Now, the RTGS PI software has been modified to block any R41 message that does not have the beneficiary account number in line 1 of field tag 5561. This field must be alphanumeric with no special characters or spaces.

What it means for you

Banks must ensure their RTGS systems are patched to enforce this rule, preventing incomplete or incorrectly formatted transactions. This will reduce manual interventions and improve processing efficiency, but requires immediate IT action to avoid disruptions.

Historical instruction — do not use for current compliance. This is what was required at the time; it no longer reflects current RBI requirements. If no replacement rule is linked above, that only means none is recorded on our register yet — it does not prove no later applicable rule exists. Confirm on the official RBI source below.

What banks were required to do at the time

Apply the patch provided by RBI's Department of Information Technology to your RTGS PI software immediately.
Verify that all outgoing RTGS messages include a valid beneficiary account number in the correct field.
Train operations staff on the new requirement to prevent rejected transactions.
Test the patched system to ensure compliance before full deployment.

Who it affects

All banks participating in RTGS, RTGS operations teams, IT departments managing payment systems

❓ Common questions

Regulatory timeline

Decoded by BankPulse 2026-06-19 08:16 IST
Status change: withdrawn 03 Aug 2026, 04:00 IST

Built from our lineage records — each fact carries its provenance; missing history simply is not shown (never guessed).

What happens if we send an RTGS message without a beneficiary account number?

The modified RTGS PI software will block the message from being originated. You must include the account number in line 1 of field tag 5561.

Can we use special characters or spaces in the beneficiary account number field?

No, the field must be alphanumeric and cannot contain special characters or spaces.

When was this change implemented?

The circular was issued on November 11, 2009, and banks were advised to apply the patch immediately.

📜 Read the original circular — full text as issued by RBI

RBI/2009-10/215
 DPSS (CO) RTGS No.949/ 04.04.002 / 2009 - 2010
 November 11, 2009
 Chairman and Managing Director /
 Chief Executive Officer of all banks participating in RTGS
 Madam / Dear Sir,
 RTGS System – Mandatory Beneficiary Account Number 
 The R41 message format in RTGS at present allows transmission of messages even if the beneficiary account number is not given. Further, messages may also flow even if the account number is given in an inappropriate field.
 2. Substantial growth in the volume of RTGS transactions has increased the dependency on Straight Through Processing (STP). Since the account number decides the fate of the transaction, RTGS messages should flow only with appropriate account numbers and in the appropriate field of the message format
 3. On the basis of several requests received from RTGS members, necessary modifications have since been carried out in the RTGS PI software. With these modifications, no RTGS participant would be able to originate a R41 message without beneficiary account number filled in the line 1 of field tag 5561. It may be noted here that Line 1 would be alpha-numeric and would not allow special characters and spaces in between.
 4. Necessary patch modifying the PI software will be provided by the Department of Information Technology, Reserve Bank of India shortly. RTGS participants are advised to apply the patch in their PI with immediate effect so that no RTGS message is originated without the account number of the beneficiary.
 5. Please acknowledge receipt of the circular.
 Yours faithfully,
 (G. Padmanabhan)
 Chief General Manager

Reproduced for reference with acknowledgment — Source: Reserve Bank of India · RBI/2009-10/215 · issued 11 Nov 2009. The plain-English explanation above is BankPulse’s own independent summary.

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BankPulse Compliance Evidence Pack — generated 03 Aug 2026 · status cross-checked against RBI’s official withdrawal register (refreshed weekly).
Official RBI source: https://www.rbi.org.in/Scripts/NotificationUser.aspx?Id=5359&Mode=0 — Plain-English summary by BankPulse (bankpulse.ai), reviewed by our expert reviewer, CA Amit Jain. Independent platform, not affiliated with the Reserve Bank of India; is our own plain-English paraphrase, not RBI’s original wording.