UPI – Full Form, Features and Transaction Limit

With the Indian government introducing various reforms in making India attain the cashless economy tag, Unified Payment Interface (UPI) has play an important role in achieving the objective. This is the latest reform government has brought for the citizens of India. Through UPI, individuals can transfer money to someone using UPI ID, mobile number, scanning QR codes, and so on.

What is Unified Payments Interface (UPI)?

The UPI full form stands for Unified Payments Interface introduced by National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) on 11^th April, 2016. The UPI is a framework that offer an instant real-time payment system that helps the individual transfer money between two accounts using a mobile interface. It also offers peer-to-peer money transfer request which can be attained as per the requirement and convenience.

Raghuram G Rajan, Governor, RBI launched UPI with 21 member banks in 2016. Now banks have started to upload their own versions of UPI Apps on Google Play Store and Apple Store to offer smooth and easy fund transfer process.

UPI can be used in three ways like-

• Entering the UPI ID or VPA of the sender/receiver
• Entering the receiver’s account number and IFSC Code
• By scanning the UPI QR Code

Features of UPI

UPI offers immediate fund transfer through mobile devices 365x24x7. Following are the services and transactions that can be performed using UPI-

• Since UPI works on a digital platform, one can make payments even on bank holidays
• One can send and receive payments through single application for accessing different bank accounts
• UPI uses the Virtual Payment Address (VPA), which is the unique bank ID
• E-commerce companies have adopted the UPI payments options through BHIM App
• You can pay bills for availing services such as Water, Electricity, DTH, Mobile Recharge and so on
• UPI is the best alternative for cash transactions wherein customers need not rush to take out cash from ATMs
• UPI can be accessed through QR Code also where individuals can Scan and Pay

Who are the Participants in UPI?

Following are the participants who play a vital role in making UPI smoother for money transfers-

• Payer ASP (Application Service Provider)
• Payee ASP (Application Service Provider)
• Beneficiary Bank
• Merchants
• Remitter Bank
• NPCI (National Payment Corporation of India)
• Bank Account Holder

UPI Transaction Limit

Currently, the upper limit per transaction is Rs. 2 lakhs within India. This UPI transaction limit has been set by NPCI which is regulated by RBI.

UPI Charges

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has suggested implementing an interchange fee for Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPIs) used in Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions exceeding Rs 2,000. This move aims to generate more revenue for banks and payment service providers who have been grappling with the high costs associated with UPI transactions. The UPI charges will become effective from April 1, and its pricing will be evaluated by September 30, 2023. 

A few key takeaways:

1- UPI payments made through PPIs -digital wallets like PayTM wallet will now attract 1.1 per cent fee if the value of the transaction is Rs. 2000 or more.

2- The wallet transactions that are worth less than Rs. 2000 will not attract this charge.

3- The fee will be levied on the merchant side. This means merchants may or may not choose to pass on the extra fee to consumers.

4- Regular UPI transactions, the ones that are made directly from bank account to bank account, remain free.

List of UPI Enabled Banks along with Transaction Limit

Download the pdf given below containing the list of all banks that offers customers the option to make fund transfer through UPI along with the transaction limit-

What is UPI ID?

UPI ID is an address of the individual that can be acknowledged by someone on UPI. The UPI ID is unique to each customer and is used for send and receiving money through UPI Apps. Some of you might get confuse as ‘What is VPA in UPI ID?’. The answer is VPA and UPI ID are the same.  Example of UPI ID- abcd@ybl or 88888@okhdfc

Where abcd can be your name, mobile number, email address and so on, and @ybl or @okhdfc are your bank’s initials.

Registration for UPI

UPI registration is simple and free for all individuals. Follow the below mentioned steps to get registered for UPI-

Step 1: Download the UPI App of any bank from Apple Store or Google Play Store/Websites

Step 2: Create your profile by entering the details such as Name, Virtual Payment Address (VPA), Password, UPI PIN, etc.

Step 3: Click ‘Add/Link/Manage Bank Account’ option and link your bank account with the VPA

How to Generate UPI PIN?

Before making any payment to and fro, it is important that you generate UPI PIN to proceed with the fund transfers. Follow the below mentioned steps in order to generate UPI PIN-

Step 1: Launch the UPI App of your choice such as BHIM App, Google Pay, YONO and so on.

Step 2: Move to ‘Bank Account’ tab on the app.

Step 3: Select your bank account from the lists.

Step 4: Click ‘SET’ tab, in case you haven’t created UPI PIN before.

Step 5: Enter the ‘Last Six Digits’ and ‘Expiry Date’ of your Debit Card.

Step 6: You will receive OTP on your registered mobile number with the bank.

Step 7: Enter the OTP and set your UPI PIN and then click ‘Submit’.

How to Reset UPI PIN?

Whatever UPI Apps you have such as BHIM UPI App, Google Pay, SBI UPI Pay, etc. you can change your UPI PIN anytime. To reset your UPI PIN, follow the below mentioned steps-

Step 1: Launch your UPI App

Step 2: Select ‘Bank Account’

Step 3: Select the bank account you want to edit

Step 4: Click ‘Forgot UPI PIN’

Step 5: Enter the last six digits of your Debit/ATM card and expiry date

Step 6: Create a new UPI PIN

Step 7: Enter the same UPI PIN again

Step 8: A notification will be displayed on the mobile screen mentioning you have successfully reset/change your PIN after entering the OTP

How to Transfer Money Through UPI?

Following are the steps required to send money to someone through your mobile device-

Step 1: Launch the app you have downloaded on your smartphone

Step 2: Login to the app using mPIN or UPI ID

Step 3: Select ‘Transfer/Send Money’

Step 4: Select the beneficiary name/VPA/bank details/mobile number

Step 5: Enter the amount you want to transfer

Step 6: Now enter your UPI PIN to confirm the payment

Step 7: you will receive notification regarding the transferred amount on the app and the bank

How to Receive Money Through UPI?

Individuals can also request money from someone through UPI. Below given are the steps required to receive money through UPI-

Step 1: Launch the UPI App on your smartphone

Step 2: Login through your mPIN or UPI ID

Step 3: Select ‘Request Money’

Step 4: Enter the payee’s VPA or select it from the existing lists of payee’s VPA

Step 5: Enter the UPI PIN to generate request

Step 6: Payee will receive notification regarding payment request

Step 7: Now payee can ‘Approve’ the request and can make payment by entering his/her UPI PIN

UPI Customer Care Number

UPI customer can register complaints, submit queries regarding issues or concerns related to UPI payments through calling UPI customer care toll-free number. The UPI toll-free number has been launched by the government for the citizens of India. Below given is the Toll-free UPI Customer Care Number-

1800-1201-740

UPI Reference Number

The UPI Reference Number or UPI Transaction ID is a unique 12-digit reference number that helps the UPI customers to keep a track of his/her transactions. This unique number can be used to contact the customer care team in case of any issues or complaints regarding UPI transactions.

UPI customers can make UPI Reference Number Tracking by following the below mentioned steps-

• Launch your UPI App such as BHIM UPI App, SBI Pay App, Google Pay, etc.
• Click ‘Passbook’ if you are using Paytm, otherwise click ‘Transaction History’, if you’re using Google Pay or PhonePe
• Now select your transaction. You will see UPI Transaction ID in case of Google Pay and UPI Reference Number in case of Paytm
• Note down the 12-digit UPI Reference Number
• Now you can easily do UPI Reference Number tracking whenever you face any issue or have queries related to UPI transactions

UPI Payments for NRIs

In the recent news, the National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) has issued a guideline allowing NRIs in ten countries to access UPI services using their international mobile number. The mobile number associated with the bank accounts are classified as Non-Resident External (NRE) or Non-Resident Ordinary (NRO) accounts.

Given below are the countries supporting UPI-

• Singapore
• Australia
• Canada
• Hong Kong
• Oman
• Qatar
• USA
• Saudi Arabia
• UAE
• United Kingdom

International UPI Transactions for NRIs with Country Code

The UPI facility is available for NRIs who hold NRE/NRO accounts and international mobile numbers with the country codes mentioned below-

• Singapore: +65
• Australia: +61
• Canada: +1
• Hong Kong: +852
• Oman: +968
• Qatar: +974
• USA: +1
• Saudi Arabia: +966
• United Arab Emirates: +971
• United Kingdom: +44

UPI 123Pay

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in association with National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has launched UPI 123Pay that allows customers to carry on digital transactions without having an internet connection. This initiative has been especially launched for feature phone users.

How to Make Payments Through UPI 123Pay?

The NPCI has introduced various ways to to make payments through UPI 123Pay. Some of the them are mentioned below-

• IVR Number
• Missed Call
• Sound-Based
• OEM Supported

Payment Through IVR Number

Under this payment types, user needs to make a call from their feature phone on 080-4516-3666/080-4516-3581/6366-200-200 to initiate fund transfer without internet connection.

Follow the below given steps to proceed further:

Step 1: You need to call at the IVR number mentioned above from your feature phone.

Step 2: You profile will be created as you proceed your call further.

Step 3: You will be required to mention the name of your bank.

Step 4: You will be assigned UPI ID in the format mobile.voice@psp

Step 5: Now enter the OTP received.

Step 6: Enter your debit card details.

Step 7: Set up your UPI PIN for further usage.

Step 8: Now create a UPI number for sending and receiving payments.

Step 9: You registration is successful. You can start sending and receiving payments.

Payment Through Missed Call

In this UPI payment system, users can make payments just by giving a missed call on the number displayed at the merchant’s place. The user will be required to authenticate the money transfer using UPI PIN to complete the transaction.

Follow the below mentioned steps to make payment through missed call:

Step 1: You are required to enter your postal pin code

Step 2: Select your preferred language and speak your preferred name

Step 3: Now speak your bank name

Step 4: Enter your last six-digit debit card number

Step 5: Enter debit card’s expiry month and year

Step 6: Now enter the debit card PIN

Step 7: Enter the OTP received on your mobile number

Step 8: Now enter the new UPI PIN and re-confirm it

Step 9: You registration is successful and you can start making payments via missed call service

Payment Through Sound-Based Technology

Under this UPI payment type, users can proceed with transactions verbally. The NPCI has brought this solution in collaboration with Tonetag and is managed by NSDL Payments Bank. The mechanism used in enabling payments through sound-based technology is through sound waves. Sound waves are used to enable offline communication on any of the device, thereby making successful transactions.

Follow the steps mentioned below to proceed further:

Step 1: You need to call at the IVR number mentioned above from your feature phone.

Step 2: You profile will be created as you proceed your call further.

Step 3: You will be required to mention the name of your bank.

Step 4: You will be assigned UPI ID in the format mobile.voice@psp

Step 5: Now enter the OTP received.

Step 6: Enter your debit card details.

Step 7: Set up your UPI PIN for further usage.

Step 8: Now create a UPI number for sending and receiving payments.

Step 9: You registration is successful. You can start sending and receiving payments.

UPI Payment Through OEM

This type of payment allows customers to download an app on their feature phone to avail financial transaction except the option to scan and pay. For this, interested partners have to tie up with the mobile manufacturing companies to enable the payment system.

Follow the below mentioned steps to enable this payment method:

Step 1: Open the app on your feature phone

Step 2: Enter your mobile number and select your bank

Step 3: Now select your account and enter the OTP received on your mobile number

Step 4: Create your UPI ID and set the UPI PIN

Step 5: Your UPI ID is created and you can start making payment through the app

How to Raise a Dispute Related to UPI Transactions?

Customers can file complaints related to UPI transactions by following the steps mentioned below:

Step 1: You need to visit the official website of BHIM UPI and Select ‘Get in Touch’ tab available at the right hand side of the screen.

Step 2: Now select the complaint option among complaint, feedback, and query.

Step 3: Select the type of complaint you want to register.

Step 4: You will be required to enter details such as type of issue, date of transaction, VPA, email Id, registered mobile number, and many others.

Step 5: After you have entered all the details, you will be required to enter captcha code and click ‘Submit’.

How to Link & Make Payment through RuPay Credit Card on UPI?

Several banks and apps have allowed users to link their RuPay credit cards to UPI for making payments. Currently, ten banks have allow linking RuPay credit cards to UPI, namely- Axis Bank, Bank of Baroda, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, IDFC First Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Punjab National Bank, State Bank of India, Union Bank of India, and Yes Bank.

Link Your RuPay Credit Card

Follow the below mentioned steps to link your RuPay credit cards to UPI:

Step 1: Open your payment app such as Google Pay, Paytm, PhonePe, etc.

Step 2: Login to your accounts

Step 3: Click ‘Bank Account’ and then click ‘Add Bank Account’

Step 4: Select ‘Credit Card’

Step 5: Now select your bank

Step 6: Enter your credit card details

Step 7: Now your credit card will be linked with your app.

Make Payment Through Your RuPay Credit Card

To make payment through your RuPay credit card, follow the below mentioned steps:

Step 1: Scan the QR Code

Step 2: Enter the amount

Step 3: Select your credit card account

Step 4: Select your RuPay Credit Card Account

Step 5: Enter the UPI PIN and payment is completed.

Visit the following links to know more about UPI:

Unified Payment Interface (UPI): FAQs