As of August 1, 2025, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has enacted new policy changes for the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) with the aim of improving transaction security, reducing system overload, and ultimately improving the digital payment experience of users across India.
Here are the updates, clearly articulated with all implications included.
1. Limited Balance Inquiries
To reduce unnecessary requests to its servers and improve the efficiency of its backend, UPI applications such as Google Pay, PhonePe, Paytm, and BHIM will limit every customer to a single manual balance inquiry for every UPI application, up to 50 times daily. If a user inquires about their balance 50 times in a single day, the user may be stopped from checking balance inquiries on that application temporarily.
How this Helps?
Balance inquiries result in server loads. This new policy ensures that all users will treated fairly in terms of their usage. Can improve efficiency of the system when in use during peak usage times.
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2. Auto-Balance Inquiries after Every Transaction
To reduce the need for the manual balance inquiry, your UPI application will now automatically provide the updated bank balance after every successful transaction.
How this Helps?
This requires very little effort on the part of the application, but will save every user time and improve transparency of information while not putting any additional load on the system.
3. Limit on Views of Linked Bank Accounts
Users can now view their linked bank accounts only up to 25 times a day across any UPI app. If you have multiple accounts then it is best to track your views.
How this Helps?
This will allow for responsible usage and also prevent unnecessary load on the UPI service.
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4. Limitations of Payment Status Requests for Pending Payments
For pending UPI payments ther service will now only allow you to check status 3 times maximum, and the period between requests must be at least 90 seconds.
How this Helps?
This will prevent the retries being exploited within the system and reduce congestion when busy.
How These Rules Affect You?
| Feature | Change | Impact on User |
|---|---|---|
| Balance Checks | Max 50/day | Avoid overuse |
| Auto-Debit Timing | Non-peak hours only | Plan EMIs accordingly |
| Recipient Name Preview | Compulsory before transfer | Fraud prevention |
| Transaction Retry | 3 times max per pending tx | Patience needed |
| Small-Value Fee | Possible charges | Avoid tiny, frequent transfers |
FAQs
Q1: Will I be charged for UPI now?
Most personal UPI transactions are still free. Small-value merchant payments might attract charges due to subsidy cuts.
Q2: Will this affect how many UPI payments I can make?
Not directly. You can still make payments until you reach the transaction or value limit defined by your bank.
Q3: Can I use more than one UPI app?
Yes. Each app has separate balance and account view limits, giving you flexibility.
Q4: What happens if I try to check a pending transaction too often?
You’ll be blocked from further status checks after 3 tries, and you’ll need to wait 90 seconds between checks.
Q5: What if I miss my auto-debit time slot?
The transaction may be rescheduled or delayed. Make sure your balance is maintained before scheduled hours.
