Changes to automatic payments in India per RBI regulations

Why these changes are happening

Due to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) regulations, automatic payments in India will be limited to ₹5,000 INR per transaction. The e-mandate notification also requires Google to set up an e-mandate for your card. This affects all users, but there are some differences depending on whether you're a new customer or an existing user.

When you set up a new account

Automatic payments in India will be limited to ₹5,000 INR due to Reserve Bank of India regulations. This requires us to set up an e-mandate for your card. All automatic payments for new accounts that use credit and debit cards are subject to these regulations. This may affect your payments on Google products.

Google Ads

All new accounts on Google Ads are set up for manual payments, in which you make a payment before your ads run. Manual payments aren’t subject to the new RBI regulations. The customer experience won’t change. The option to use automatic payments is temporarily turned off until further notice.

Google Workspace

For any new accounts on Google Workspace, we may be unable to charge you automatically if:

• Your card doesn't support automatic payments.
• The amount you owe is greater than the ₹ 5,000 INR limit for automatic charges as defined by RBI.

In either case, manual payments will keep your services active. Learn how to make manual payments for Google Workspace.

Google Cloud

For new accounts on Google Cloud, the payment threshold is ₹ 5,000 INR as per the limit for automatic charges defined by RBI. If your card doesn't support automatic payments, we may be unable to charge you automatically. To keep your service from getting disrupted, pay manually as soon as you’re billed. Learn how to make manual payments for Google Cloud.

Google Play

For new signups on Google Play, if your card doesn’t support automatic payments, you may be prompted to opt for a one-time pass.

YouTube

For new signups for recurring plans on YouTube Premium and Music, if your card doesn't support automatic payments, you may be prompted to opt for prepaid plans. Get a Premium membership.

Recurring plans for channel memberships are temporarily turned off. Use prepaid plans to use this service. Learn how to become a channel member on YouTube.

Google Domains

For new subscriptions on Google Domains, we may be unable to charge you automatically if:

• Your card doesn't support recurring automatic payments.
• The amount that you owe is greater than the ₹5,000 INR limit for recurring automatic payments as defined by RBI.

In either case, making payments manually will keep your services running. Learn how to pay manually on Google Domains.

If your account doesn’t work because of a declined automatic payment, to keep your account active, make manual payments. Learn how to make manual payments for:

• Google Ads
• Google Cloud
• Google Workspace
• Google Domains

Tip: To keep your account in a credit position, make manual payments in advance. To cover future expenses, make sure you have enough funds on your account.

If your card doesn’t support automatic payments, you may consider an alternate payment method. Learn more about which cards are supported by the new regulation.

It’s also possible that the bank that issued your card will come into compliance later. In this case, we’ll update the above list and you can then log in to fix your subscription. Learn more about how to fix your subscription.

Updates on how automatic payments work for existing users

Automatic payments in India will be limited to ₹5,000 INR due to a Reserve Bank of India regulations. This also requires us to set up an e-mandate for your card. For existing accounts, the deadline for compliance is on September 30, 2021.

From August to September 2021, we’ll update your recurring payment per the new guidelines. The total amount you're charged won't change, and you'll be charged only for your usage. 

In case we can’t update your recurring payments, we'll let you know if you need to fix your payment settings manually. This action should be taken before this regulation takes effect on October 1, 2021, or your automatic payments will fail and your service will be interrupted. For more details on how to fix your recurring automatic payments, refer to How can I fix my recurring payments.

Google Ads

• If you’re a Google Ads customer using manual payments: Manual payments aren’t subject to the new RBI regulations. The customer experience won’t change. The option to use automatic payments is temporarily turned off until further notice.
• If you're a Google Ads customer using automatic payments: By September 30, 2021, your payment threshold will be lowered to ₹5,000 INR. This may mean you pay more often because you'll reach your threshold more frequently. You may find a charge to bring your balance below the threshold.

If your card doesn't support automatic payments or if you haven't yet updated your subscription, we may be unable to charge you automatically. You need to pay manually as soon as you’re billed.

Learn how to make manual payments for Google Ads.

Google Cloud

• If you’re a Google Cloud customer with threshold billing: If your card doesn't support automatic payments, we may be unable to charge you automatically, and you can’t update your subscription before September 30. You need to pay manually as soon as you’re billed. Learn how to make manual payments for Google Cloud.

• If you’re a Google Cloud customer with monthly billing:
  We may be unable to charge you automatically if:
  • Your card doesn’t support automatic payments or if you haven't yet updated your subscription.
  • The amount you owe is greater than the ₹ 5,000 INR limit for automatic charges as defined by RBI.

Tip: You need to pay manually as soon as you’re billed. Learn how to make manual payments for Google Cloud.

Google Workspace

We may be unable to charge you automatically if:

• Your card doesn’t support automatic payments or if you haven't yet updated your subscription.
• The amount you owe is greater than the ₹ 5,000 INR limit for automatic charges as defined by RBI.

You need to pay manually as soon as you’re billed. Learn how to make manual payments for Google Workspace.

Google Play

If you don't update your subscription, we may be unable to charge you automatically.

To update your subscription:

1. On your app or desktop, go to the "Subscriptions" section.

2. Look for an alert on your subscription that indicates your card needs to be verified.

Tip: Your bank may not support recurring payments at this time. To check the list of banks that support recurring payments, refer to Which cards are supported by the new regulation.

YouTube

If you don’t update your subscription before September 30, 2021, we may be unable to charge you automatically. Follow prompts in your YouTube app or on youtube.com. Your bank may not support recurring payments at this time. To check the list of banks supporting recurring payments, refer to Which cards are supported by the new regulation. Learn more about updates on recurring payments for memberships in India.

Google Domains

We may be unable to charge you automatically if:

• Your card doesn't support automatic payments or if you haven’t yet updated your subscription.
• The amount you owe is greater than the ₹5,000 INR limit for recurring automatic payments as defined by RBI.

You need to pay manually as soon as you’re billed. Learn how to pay manually for Google Domains.

FAQs

Q1: What’s an e-mandate?

• An e-mandate is an agreement between card users and merchants like Google. Merchant enables automatic recurring payments on your card.
• After your successful OTP validation, an e-mandate can be established on your card for recurring transactions only. Automatic payments in India will be limited to ₹5,000 INR per transaction due to Reserve Bank of India regulations. This requires us to set up an e-mandate for your card.
• It authorizes Google to charge you automatically up to a certain amount at a certain frequency.

Your e-mandate will be created for a maximum amount that may exceed ₹5,000 INR, but we won’t charge more than ₹5,000 INR automatically without your approval. Your e-mandate will expire after 25 years. In any case, the total amount you’re charged won’t change, and you’ll be charged only for your usage.

Q2: How can I fix my recurring automatic payments?

If your card is ready for an e-mandate, to fix your subscription, follow the steps below.

For Google Workspace:

1. Sign in to your Admin console at admin.google.com. If you have trouble signing in, refer to this guide.
2. At the top left, click Main menu Billing Payment accounts.
3. Click the account ID of your Google Workspace subscription.
4. To fix your recurring automatic payments and prevent service disruption, at the top of the page, under “Red Alert,” click Fix now.

For Google Cloud:

1. Sign in to the Google Cloud Console.
2. Go to the Manage Billing Accounts page.
3. Select the billing account you want to manage.
4. On the Billing Overview page, click the Payment Overview tab.
5. To fix your recurring payments and prevent service disruption, at the top of the page, under “Red Alert,” click Fix now.

For Google Ads:

1. Sign in to your Google Ads account.
2. Click Tools and Settings Billing & payments.
3. To fix your recurring payments and prevent service disruption, at the top of the page, under “Red Alert,” click Fix now.

For Google Play:

• Android:
  1. Open your Google Play app. Make sure you’re signed in to the correct Google account.
  2. At the top right, tap your profile.
  3. Tap Payments and subscriptions.
  4. Tap Subscriptions.
  5. Look for an alert on your subscription that indicates your card needs to be verified. Tap Alert.
  6. Follow the instructions on the screen to verify your payment method.
• Desktop:
  1. On your computer, go to play.google.com. Make sure you’re signed in to the correct Google account.
  2. Click My Subscriptions.
  3. Click Manage.
  4. Look for an alert on your subscription that indicates your card needs to be verified. Click Alert.
  5. Follow the instructions on the screen to verify your card.

For YouTube:

Follow prompts in your YouTube app or on youtube.com. Your bank may not support recurring payments at this time. To check the list of banks supporting recurring payments, refer to Which cards are supported by the new regulation. Learn more about updates on recurring payments for memberships in India.

For Google Domains:

1. Sign in to your Google Domains account.
2. Navigate My domains tab.
3. To fix your recurring payments, at the top of the page, click Red Alert.
4. Click Update now.

Learn more about recurring payments in India.

Q3: Which cards are supported by the new regulation?

To process automatic or recurring payments, we’re required to set up an e-mandate on your card due to a Reserve Bank of India e-mandate notification. However, not all banks support this regulation yet.

Per the new RBI guidelines, the cards which support recurring payments are:

Bank	Cards
HDFC Bank	Visa credit
	Visa debit
	Mastercard credit
	Mastercard debit
ICICI Bank	Visa credit
	Visa debit
	Mastercard debit
Axis Bank	Visa credit
	Visa debit
	Mastercard credit
	Mastercard debit
SBI Bank	Visa credit
	Visa debit
	Mastercard debit
Citibank	Visa credit
	Mastercard debit
	Mastercard credit
Kotak Bank	Visa credit
	Visa debit
Bank of Baroda	Visa debit
	Mastercard debit
IDFC Bank	Visa credit
Yes Bank	Mastercard credit
RBL Bank	Mastercard debit
IndusInd Bank	Visa debit
	Mastercard credit
	Mastercard debit
Standard Chartered Bank	Visa credit
	Mastercard credit
AU Small Finance Bank	Visa credit
SBM Bank	Visa credit
	Visa debit
	Mastercard credit
	Mastercard debit
Union Bank of India	Visa debit
Bank of India	Visa debit
	Mastercard credit
	Mastercard debit

If your bank isn’t in this list, to keep your account active, continue to make manual payments or pre-payments.

Q4: How does my account get charged after I fix my recurring automatic payments?

For Google Cloud and Workspace:

• We'll try to charge your card automatically for your monthly payments. But, if your monthly charge is more than ₹5,000 INR, to avoid any service disruption, make the payment manually as soon as possible.
• To stay in credit, make payments before they're due.

For Google Ads: Your payment threshold will be lowered to ₹5,000 INR. This may mean you pay more often because you'll reach your threshold more frequently. You may find a charge to bring your balance below the threshold.

Tip: Your threshold may be lowered before the e-mandate is established.

Q5: How do I keep my service from getting disrupted at any point of time?

To keep your service from disruption, make a manual payment as soon as possible. Learn how to make manual payments for:

• Google Ads
• Google Cloud
• Google Workspace

You can avoid any service interruptions in the future when you sign in to your account and manually add funds ahead of your automatic recurring charge. To avoid frequent manual payments, some users choose to pay for a few months of expected usage ahead of time.