Credit Card Tips: You can no longer pay rent with a credit card! This new RBI guideline has been implemented...

Credit Card Rent Payment: You will no longer be able to pay rent using your credit card. Major fintech platforms like PhonePe, Paytm, Cred, and Amazon Pay have discontinued this feature. This feature was popular over the past few years because it facilitated rent payments and offered benefits like reward points and cashback. However, the RBI has now issued new regulations effective September 15, 2025, which has ended this feature.

According to the new RBI regulations, a company acting as a payment aggregator can only process money for merchants with whom it has direct contracts. Landlords are not included in this list, so fintech companies can no longer transfer rent payments to landlords using credit cards.

Why this strictness?
The RBI cited violations of KYC rules and increasing fraud as reasons behind this decision. It has often been observed that proper verification was not performed when paying rent using credit cards. Taking advantage of this, some people would transfer money to the accounts of close relatives, posing as rent, and then use it for illegal purposes. Consequently, the RBI decided that such transactions could no longer be conducted without proper verification. Therefore, rent payments using credit cards have been banned.

The era of paying rent using credit cards is over.
Previously, tenants used credit card payments directly to landlords through apps like Cred, PhonePe, and Paytm. This provided them with access to cashback, reward points, and credit, making it easier to plan their monthly budget. However, starting in 2024, banks began tightening their restrictions on this facility. HDFC Bank began charging 1% in June 2024. ICICI Bank and SBI Cards stopped offering reward points on such transactions. SBI Cards also increased fees and acknowledged that the growth of rent payments is slowing.

All apps have discontinued this feature.
In March 2024, some fintech platforms discontinued the facility for rent payments using credit cards. Now, following the RBI's new regulations, other fintech companies, including Cred, have completely discontinued this feature in September 2025. The option to pay rent using credit cards will no longer be available.

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