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Unauthorised use

Unauthorised use refers to any transaction made on your credit card without your permission, through a lost or stolen card, a phished OTP, a cloned card, or any other fraud where you didn't authorise the charge. Under RBI's 2017 customer protection guidelines, your liability depends entirely on how quickly you report it: zero liability if the fraud was due to the bank's own negligence, or if you report a third-party breach within 3 working days of being notified; limited liability (capped between ₹5,000 and ₹25,000, depending on your card's limit) if you report within 4-7 working days; and liability as per your bank's own policy if you report after 7 days. Once reported, the bank must credit the disputed amount back to your account within 10 working days, without waiting for its own investigation to conclude.

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Unauthorised use
Frequently asked questions
Report it to your bank immediately through their helpline, app, or website. The 3-day zero-liability window starts from when the bank first notifies you of the transaction, so speed matters more than anything else.
No, OTP or PIN entry alone does not prove negligence, since fraud can happen through SIM-swap, malware, or phishing without any carelessness on your part. The bank has to demonstrate actual negligence, not just that a one-time code was used.
Yes, if reported within the RBI timelines, the bank is required to credit the disputed amount within 10 working days of your complaint, even before its own investigation is complete.