New UPI Rules 2025: Limits, AutoPay, and Merchant Transactions

New UPI Rules 2025: What You Need to Know for Seamless Digital Payments

Introduction

The new UPI rules 2025, rolled out by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), are transforming India’s digital payments landscape. With UPI continuing to dominate as the preferred mode of transactions, these changes aim to enhance security, reduce system overload, and improve transaction reliability. Whether you are a daily UPI user or a merchant, understanding these updates is crucial for smooth, uninterrupted payments. This guide breaks down the key new UPI regulations effective from August and September 2025 and explains their practical impact.

Why Are These New UPI Rules Needed?

India’s UPI ecosystem is one of the largest and fastest-growing in the world, processing over 18 billion transactions monthly as of mid-2025. This overwhelming usage causes certain challenges like system congestion, failed transactions, and fraud attempts. The NPCI introduced these rules to:

• Limit excessive balance and account checks that stress banking APIs

• Set fixed timings and retry limits for AutoPay mandates to reduce peak load

• Strengthen beneficiary verification to improve payment safety

• Introduce higher transaction limits for verified merchants in select categories

Key Updates in UPI Rules 2025

1. Balance Enquiry Limits

• Users can check account balances manually via UPI only 50 times per app per day.

• Auto background balance checks are disallowed to reduce unnecessary server load.

• After every UPI transaction, available balance is auto-displayed to avoid extra manual checks.

2. Account Linking View Restrictions

• UPI apps can fetch linked bank accounts up to 25 times per user per app each day to control repetitive system calls.

3. AutoPay Mandate Execution & Retry Guidelines

• AutoPay transactions (e.g., subscriptions, EMIs) will only run during specific non-peak slots: before 10 AM, 1 PM-5 PM, and after 9:30 PM.

• Each mandate can execute a maximum of 4 attempts (1 initial + 3 retries) with a minimum 90-second gap to ease congestion.

4. Increased UPI Transaction Limits for Merchants

• For verified merchants in sectors like travel, insurance, IPOs, and loan EMIs, per-transaction limits rise to ₹5 lakh and daily caps up to ₹10 lakh from September 15, 2025.

• Person-to-person (P2P) transfer limits remain ₹1 lakh per day per user.

5. Inactive UPI ID Deactivation

• UPI IDs unused for 12 months linked to mobile numbers will be disabled to avoid misuse after number reassignment.

6. Stricter Bank Account Addition Verification

• Newly added bank accounts on UPI will undergo enhanced authentication steps to ensure genuine user ownership.

7. Faster API Response Times

• All UPI APIs must now respond within 10 seconds instead of the earlier 30 seconds to enhance transaction speed.

8. UPI Through Credit Lines

• By August 31, 2025, users will be able to pay and withdraw via pre-approved credit lines with specific limits and safeguards.

Table: Summary of New UPI Rules 2025

Rule	Details	Effective Date
Balance Check Limit	Max 50 manual checks/app/day; no auto background checks	August 1, 2025
Account Linking Views	Max 25 views per user/app/day	August 1, 2025
AutoPay Execution	Restricted to off-peak hours; max 4 attempts per mandate	August 1, 2025
Merchant Transaction Limits	Up to ₹5 lakh/transaction, ₹10 lakh/day for verified merchants	September 15, 2025
Inactive UPI ID Deactivation	IDs inactive 12 months will be disabled	August 1, 2025
Bank Account Verification	Enhanced authentication for new accounts	August 1, 2025
API Response Time	Max 10 seconds	August 1, 2025
Credit Line Payments	Allowed from August 31, 2025	August 31, 2025

How Will These Changes Affect Users and Merchants?

• Users will experience smoother, faster UPI transactions with fewer failures. Balance inquiry limits might require some adjustment but auto-balance displays soften this impact.

• Merchants in high-value sectors benefit from significantly increased transaction caps promoting digital adoption and easing high-value payments.

• Developers and PSPs (Payment Service Providers) will need to optimize apps to comply with API call limits and retry rules, improving overall system stability.

Practical Tips for UPI Users in 2025

• Monitor your balance checks; avoid exceeding limits to prevent temporary blocks.

• Schedule AutoPay mandates thoughtfully considering newer time restrictions.

• Use verified apps that comply with NPCI guidelines for best experience.

• Keep UPI IDs active and regularly used where possible to avoid deactivation.

• For merchants, ensure proper verification to unlock higher transaction thresholds.

Conclusion

The new UPI rules 2025 by NPCI are a step toward a safer, faster, and more reliable digital payments ecosystem. Users and merchants alike must familiarize themselves with these guidelines to continue enjoying seamless UPI experiences. As India’s digital economy scales new heights, these updates ensure UPI remains a dependable backbone for billions of transactions daily.

Call to Action

Stay ahead by following the new UPI rules and leverage compliant UPI apps for your daily payments. For business owners, get your merchant accounts verified to benefit from the enhanced transaction limits starting September 15, 2025.

FAQ

Q1: What is the new daily limit for UPI merchant transactions in 2025?A1: Verified merchants can now transact up to ₹5 lakh per transaction and ₹10 lakh daily starting September 15, 2025.

Q2: How many balance checks are allowed per day on UPI apps?A2: Users can manually check balances up to 50 times per app per day; auto-balance displays after transactions reduce the need for manual checks.

Q3: When are UPI AutoPay mandates allowed to execute?A3: AutoPay transactions are restricted to off-peak hours: before 10 AM, 1 PM to 5 PM, and after 9:30 PM, with a max of 4 retry attempts per mandate