Why You Cannot Pay Rent Via Credit Cards On Fintech Apps Anymore

A new Reserve Bank of India (RBI) circular will leave tenants missing out on popular perks such as reward points and cashbacks.

An RBI circular issued on September 15 called for the tightening of rules for payment aggregators (PAs) and payment gateways (PGs). This has led popular fintech platforms, such as PhonePe, Paytm, and Cred, to suspend their rent payment services, disrupting one of the fastest-growing use cases for credit card transactions.

Tenants who depended on these apps to pay rent through credit cards now face fewer options, losing out on benefits like reward points, cashback, and interest-free credit periods.

What Does RBI’s Directive Mean?

Under the revised framework, PAs and PGs can only process payments for merchants with whom they have direct contracts and who have completed full KYC verification. Since most landlords are not registered as merchants, fintech platforms can no longer facilitate credit card rent payments on their behalf.

Even before the RBI directive, banks had started scaling back support for such transactions. In June 2024, HDFC Bank began charging a 1% fee (capped at ₹3,000) on credit card rent payments through fintech apps. Meanwhile, ICICI Bank and SBI Cards stopped awarding reward points for rent transactions.

Several fintech apps, including Mobikwik, Freecharge, and Amazon Pay, had temporarily suspended credit card rent payments earlier this year, citing compliance concerns. While some resumed with stricter checks, the RBI’s latest directive effectively closes the window for most tenants.

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