Strict order from RBI… ‘Dark Pattern’ will be removed from banking apps, hidden charges will not work after July 2026

Guidelines For Digital Banking Transparency: Reserve Bank of India has taken a historic and much needed step to protect the interests of crores of bank customers which will bring transparency in banking services. The central bank has ordered banks to remove all those clever tricks from their websites and mobile apps which often mislead customers. These tricks are called ‘dark patterns’ These are said to be used to coerce customers into purchasing unwanted services or charging hidden charges. With this new decision of RBI, it will not only be easier to do digital transactions but the customers’ trust in their hard-earned money and banks will also increase more than before.

RBI’s new order and deadline

The Reserve Bank of India has issued ‘Responsible Business Conduct Amendment Directions, 2026’ Through this, banks have been given strict time till July 2026 to make all their digital services transparent. According to this new instruction, banks will have to remove all those dark patterns from their mobile applications and official websites which mislead customers in some way or the other. RBI wants banks to take explicit and written consent of customers before selling any of their financial products or services so that there is no scope for any kind of dispute in future.

Dark Pattern manipulation and exploitation of customers

The real purpose of dark pattern technology used on digital platforms is to influence the behavior of users in such a way that they unknowingly accept expensive services. This often involves secretly adding hidden charges during checkout or repeatedly sending misleading messages to customers to force them to purchase additional services like insurance or loans. Now RBI is going to ban all these tricks so that the customers clearly know what they are paying for and what service they are signing up for.

Big survey exposes banks

According to the report, LocalCircles conducted a comprehensive survey among more than 1,61,000 people from 388 districts, in which a big and shocking revelation of these tricks of banking apps has been made. The survey revealed that most people are fed up with these hidden charges and annoying notifications as they unnecessarily complicate their everyday banking process. Only after these results of the survey, the Reserve Bank of India has adopted this strict stance for the safety of the customers so that both the money of the common man of the country and his trust in digital banking remain completely safe.

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The future of transparent digital banking

The main objective of this step of RBI is to make mobile banking more simple, fair and reliable because in today’s time people have become completely dependent on digital transactions for their deposits. After July 2026, it will be mandatory for banks not to bundle any product and not to impose any additional service or product on customers without their consent. In future, this policy will not only save customers from financial losses but will also usher in a new era of healthy and transparent competition in the banking sector which is in everyone’s interest.