Alert! Your UPI ID Is Likely To Be Deactivated After December 31st If You Haven't Done This

Given that UPI transactions have become a part of millions of people's daily financial lives and are reaching an all-time high in terms of usage, it's important for you to be aware of a key change that is coming up next month.

What Is Changing In Terms Of UPI Transactions?

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Individuals who have not done any transactions on their UPI IDs since a year will not be able to receive funds from January 1st, 2024. The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has asked banks, payment service providers, and third-party application providers (TPAPs) such as PhonePe, Google Pay, and others to deactivate UPI IDs and numbers of customers who have not performed any transactions for one year or more.

¡°All TPAPs and PSP (Payment Service Provider) banks shall identify UPI IDs and associated UPI numbers and phone numbers of customers who have not performed any financial (debit or credit) or non-financial transactions for a time period of 1 year from the UPI apps,¡± NPCI said in a circular.

¡°UPI IDs and UPI numbers of such customers shall be disabled for inward credit transactions,¡± it added, as per the Financial Express report.

Also Read: How To Reverse UPI Payment Mistakenly Made To Wrong ID

When Is The Deadline?

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NPCI has set December 31 as a deadline to deactivate UPI IDs of inactive customers. The directive is aimed at ensuring that the money is transferred only to the intended recipients. When individuals change their mobile numbers, they usually forget to dissociate their UPI ID. When this number is used by a new user, the UPI ID of the previous user remains linked to it. This leaves the possibility of inadvertent transfer of funds to unintended recipients.

Also Read: The Untold Story Of Dilip Asbe & His Team, Who Are The Brains Behind UPI

How Are Experts Reacting To It?

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¡°We will identify such inactive UPI IDs as a good governance measure and send them a message and email. If there is no response within a specified time, we will deactivate those UPI IDs,¡± a bank official said, as per the report.

He added that the UPI IDs and UPI numbers of such customers shall be disabled for inward credit transactions, which means that they will not be able to receive funds from others.

¡°This initiative by NPCI is a positive step towards ensuring a hygienic payment ecosystem, which is essential for the sustainability of a cashless digital economy in India. ¡°This proactive measure will enhance the safety and efficiency of UPI payments," told Vishwas Patel, chairman, Payments Council of India and joint managing director of Infibeam Avenues.

Experts say that this move will affect customers using prepaid mobile numbers because the tendency to change numbers frequently is higher among them. Customers with postpaid numbers do not change numbers frequently.

Also Read: Explained: How RBIs Digital Rupee (e?) Is Different From UPI

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