Changes in NPCI's regulations take effect on August 1st: here's a breakdown of what's different
The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has announced new regulations for the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) system, effective August 1, 2025. These regulations aim to improve the efficiency of the UPI network and address the high usage volume that has put significant strain on it.
Under the new rules, strict API usage limits and operational controls have been imposed to ensure fair usage and reduce system overload. Here's a breakdown of the key changes:
Balance Inquiry Limit: Users can check their bank account balance via UPI up to 50 times per app per day, but only for manual, user-initiated requests. Background or automated balance checks are no longer allowed.
Transaction Status Check: A user may initiate a transaction status request only 45 to 60 seconds after the original transaction’s initiation or authentication. This helps reduce excessive status calls immediately after transactions.
Autopay Mandate Execution: UPI Autopay mandates (e.g., utility bills, OTT subscriptions) are allowed to execute only during designated non-peak hours (outside 10:00-13:00 and 17:00-21:30 daily) to ease system load. Each mandate is limited to a maximum of 4 attempts (1 original attempt plus 3 retries) to reduce failure rates and server congestion.
List Account API Usage: The API that lists all bank accounts linked to a given mobile number can be called a maximum of 25 times per user per app per day. This restriction targets reducing unnecessary server load from excessive account listing requests.
All UPI APIs related to core functions, including those described, must have a response time of 10 seconds or less, improving transaction speed and reliability.
Inactive UPI IDs tied to a mobile number inactive for over 12 months will be deactivated automatically for security. Enhanced verification processes are now required for adding new bank accounts to UPI, including stronger user authentication.
These measures collectively aim to reduce system overload, promote fair usage, and enhance stability and security of UPI transactions under growing volumes.
From August 1, 2025, UPI apps will limit the number of usage of APIs, including the list account request, in a day. The new regulations apply to all payment service providers (PSPs). During peak traffic hours (10 AM to 1 PM and 5 PM to 9:30 PM), UPI apps are instructed to queue, rate-limit, and restrict non-customer payments requests to reduce strain.
The deadline for banks and PSPs to regulate the use of the 10 most commonly used UPI APIs, including the list account request, is July 31, 2025. Failure to comply with these guidelines could result in API restrictions, monetary penalties, and suspension of new customer onboarding.
- To meet the new regulations, UPI apps will be restricting the number of list account requests from smartphones, ensuring compliance by the deadline of July 31, 2025.
- Given the high usage volume that smartphones contribute to the UPI network, finance managers should consider adopting technology solutions to optimize their UPI transactions and stay within the API usage limits set by the new regulations.
