Domestic Money Transfer (DMT) in India: How It Works and RBI's Rules

In a lot of Indian towns there's a shop with a sign that says "money transfer". A worker walks in with cash, gives the agent a family member's bank account number back home, and the money lands in that account within minutes. That service is domestic money transfer, usually shortened to DMT, and it runs under a framework the Reserve Bank of India set up in 2011 and tightened in 2024.

DMT was designed for people who move for work and can't easily use a bank account in the city they work in, or don't have one at all. This guide explains how it works, the limits, the 2024 changes, and what senders and agents should keep in mind.

RBI's framework, introduced in October 2011 to help migrant workers and widen access to banking, lets banks run three kinds of person-to-person transfer. Each has its own limits.

When people talk about DMT at a local shop, they usually mean cash pay-in: the sender hands over cash and the money reaches someone's bank account. The rest of this guide focuses on that.

RBI's 2024 review kept these transaction limits in place. Card-to-card transfers are now handled outside the DMT framework, under separate rules.

In July 2024, RBI reviewed the framework and set new requirements, which banks had to follow from 1 November 2024. The changes are about knowing who is sending the money, and making each transfer traceable.

For cash pay-out, RBI now requires the sending bank to take and keep a record of the beneficiary's name and address. Banks must also follow the Income Tax Act's rules on cash deposits.

From the sender's side, a DMT transfer at an agent's counter goes through these steps:

The agent is a business correspondent acting for a bank, and it's that bank that sends the money. Our BC programme guide explains how banks appoint and supervise agents.

For people who have a bank account and a smartphone, UPI or a bank transfer is usually simpler and cheaper. DMT fills the gap for those who don't.

For the full picture on UPI limits, see UPI transaction limits, and for how the bank rails compare, India's payment rails.

A few checks protect your money:

DMT transfers go out over IMPS or NEFT, and an IMPS transfer normally arrives within minutes. If the recipient hasn't received the money:

Questions senders often ask at the counter:

Offering DMT means acting for a bank, under its rules, as its business correspondent. Since November 2024, that includes registering each sender properly, taking the extra authentication for every transfer, and making sure sender details go into the transfer message. Agents who treat these as formalities put their bank relationship at risk.

The practical questions for a business are which bank you act for, how your cash and float are managed, how transfers are reconciled, and how you handle complaints. The BC programme guide covers those, and our explainer on AePS covers another service a banking agent can offer at the same counter.