New UPI rules from April 1: What changes for you
What's the story
The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has announced new regulations for Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions.
The guidelines, which will come into effect on April 1, 2025, are aimed at enhancing interoperability and customer satisfaction for UPI number-based payments.
The rules will be applicable to all UPI member banks, third-party app providers (TPAPs), and UPI apps.
Database update
Banks required to refresh their databases once a week
The new rules mandate banks and Payment Service Provider (PSP) apps to utilize the Mobile Number Revocation List/Digital Intelligence Platform (MNRL/DIP), and refresh their databases at least once a week.
This will minimize transaction failures due to old/reassigned mobile numbers.
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) reassigns disconnected mobile numbers after 90 days, which can create problems for UPI transactions if not tackled.
User responsibility
UPI IDs linked to inactive numbers will be deactivated
As per the new UPI guidelines, UPI IDs linked with inactive mobile numbers will be deactivated.
This means if your bank-registered mobile number has remained inactive for a long time, your corresponding UPI ID will be unlinked, and you won't have access to UPI services.
Hence, customers must keep their registered mobile numbers active and current to prevent service disruption.
Fraud prevention
NPCI to restrict "Collect Payments" feature to verified merchants
Along with the new UPI guidelines, NPCI is also removing the "Collect Payments" feature from UPI as a step against increasing fraud cases.
This pull-payment system will now be restricted to large, verified merchants only. For person-to-person collect payments, a limit of ₹2,000 has been set.
These changes are part of NPCI's continued efforts to make UPI transactions more secure and efficient.