Reserve Bank of India (Non-Banking Financial Companies – Acceptance of Public Deposits) Directions, 2025 (Updated as on April 15, 2026)
UR
- Applies toFinance companies
- StatusIn force
- IssuedNov 28, 2025
- Amendmentsnone tracked
- Length37 points in 5 sections · 4 min read
The four dates on this rule
- PublishedNov 28, 2025The day RBI put this document out. This is the same day as the Issued date on this rule.
- Starts to applyNov 28, 2025The day this rule starts to apply, as RBI's own text states it.
- Time to get readyNoneIt starts to apply on the day it was published.
- Last date to actNot statedNo date to act by was found in this document. Other dates may sit inside single paragraphs.
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36 of the 37 points name no product and bind every product. All products.
Numbers to remember
| 15 per cent | At least 15 per cent of deposits must sit in unencumbered approved securities, valued at market or lower. RBI Para 10 |
| twelve months | Every deposit must run at least twelve months and at most sixty months. RBI Para 16 |
| two per cent | A deposit broker's commission is capped at two per cent of what he collects. RBI Para 21(1) |
| 14 days | The company must tell the depositor at least 14 days before a deposit matures. RBI Para 22 |
| three months | For the first three months no repayment and no loan against the deposit is allowed. RBI Para 35 |
| 75 per cent | After three months a depositor may borrow up to 75 per cent of the deposit. RBI Para 36(2) |
| ₹5 lakh | For a depositor's urgent expenses, up to half the deposit or ₹5 lakh, whichever is lower, may be paid early without interest. RBI Para 37(2) |
| ₹10,000 | A problem company may prepay only tiny deposits, or up to ₹10,000 of any other deposit. RBI Para 38(1) |
| 6 months | Exit between 3 and 6 months earns no interest at all. RBI Para 40 |
| six months | Repayment after six months but before maturity earns 2 per cent less than the applicable rate. RBI Para 40 |
| ten per cent | A deposit taking loan company may put at most ten per cent of owned funds in land or buildings. RBI Para 63(1) |
| twenty per cent | Unquoted shares of outside companies are capped at twenty per cent of owned funds. RBI Para 63(2) |
What it says
How firm is each point
Stated by RBI — RBI’s own paragraph says this. We have only made it plainer.
Our reading — BankPulse read RBI’s paragraph and shortened it. The paragraph is the authority, not this line.
Needs judgement — RBI leaves this to the bank to settle, so nobody can give you a fixed number here.
Chapter I. Preliminary
1. In force on posting
These directions took effect the day they were placed on RBI's website.
2. Who is covered
The directions bind deposit taking finance companies, deposit taking housing lenders and government finance companies.
3. A yearly no-deposit promise
A company holding no public deposits stays out by passing a board resolution saying so every year.
Chapter II. Requirement of Maintenance of Liquid Assets
1. Fifteen per cent kept liquid
At least 15 per cent of deposits must sit in unencumbered approved securities, valued at market or lower.
Chapter III. Restriction on Acceptance of Public Deposit by NBFC
Must know
1. A rating before deposits
No company may take public deposits without an investment grade rating renewed every year.
2. Never on demand
No public deposit may be repayable on demand.
3. Twelve to sixty months
Every deposit must run at least twelve months and at most sixty months.
BankPulse example. A finance company takes a deposit. The deposit must run at least twelve months, so it cannot be repaid earlier. It cannot run beyond sixty months from the date it was accepted or renewed.
4. One and a half times
Total public deposits may never exceed one and one-half times the company's net owned fund.
5. Interest capped
Interest on a public deposit may not exceed twelve and half per cent a year.
6. Monthly rests at shortest
Interest compounding cannot be more frequent than monthly.
7. Broker pay capped
A deposit broker's commission is capped at two per cent of what he collects.
8. Fourteen days notice
The company must tell the depositor at least 14 days before a deposit matures.
Do it
9. Deposits are not insured
Every advertisement must say the deposits are not insured.
Background
10. BBB minus is the floor
The lowest acceptable rating is BBB- from a SEBI registered agency.
11. RBI's warning on forms
Forms and advertisements carry RBI's warning that it does not guarantee the company or repayment.
12. Depositor signs the risk
The application form ends with the depositor confirming the deposit is at his own risk.
Chapter IV. General Provisions regarding repayment of Public Deposit
Must know
1. Three month lock in
For the first three months no repayment and no loan against the deposit is allowed.
2. Borrowing against deposits
After three months a depositor may borrow up to 75 per cent of the deposit.
3. Urgent expenses allow early payout
For a depositor's urgent expenses, up to half the deposit or ₹5 lakh, whichever is lower, may be paid early without interest.
4. Problem companies, ten thousand
A problem company may prepay only tiny deposits, or up to ₹10,000 of any other deposit.
5. Nothing before six months
Exit between 3 and 6 months earns no interest at all.
6. Early exit costs interest
Repayment after six months but before maturity earns 2 per cent less than the applicable rate.
Background
7. Death unlocks early
If the depositor dies, the money is repaid early, even inside the lock in period.
8. Full amount for critical illness
For critical illness the whole deposit may be paid early, without interest.
Chapter V. Miscellaneous Instructions
Must know
1. Registers kept eight years
Deposit registers stay preserved at least eight calendar years.
2. Default freezes lending
A company that has failed to repay a deposit may not lend or invest while the default lasts.
3. Land and buildings capped
A deposit taking loan company may put at most ten per cent of owned funds in land or buildings.
4. Unquoted shares capped
Unquoted shares of outside companies are capped at twenty per cent of owned funds.
Do it
5. Unclaimed deposits reported
The board's yearly report must count unclaimed and unpaid matured deposits.
6. Full cover at all times
The company's assets must fully cover its public deposits at all times.
Background
7. A receipt for every deposit
Every deposit gets a signed receipt naming the amount, rate and repayment date.
8. Securities in safe custody
The liquid securities backing deposits sit in a dedicated government securities account.
9. Moving them needs RBI
Those securities move only to repay depositors, with the Reserve Bank's prior approval.
10. A charge for depositors
Depositors get a registered floating charge over the statutory liquid assets, through a trust deed.
Chapter VII. Repeal and Other Provisions
1. Old guidance repealed
All earlier public deposit rules for these companies stand repealed from the day these directions arrived.
2. Old actions stay governed
Action already taken under the old rules stays governed by them.
3. Breaking rules has a price
Breaking these directions invites penal action under the law.
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