New Delhi: In a move aimed at improving the efficiency of digital payments, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has reduced the processing time for Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions to 15 seconds.
The change, which came into effect today, shortens the average transaction time from the earlier 30 seconds. The update applies across all major UPI-enabled platforms such as PhonePe, Google Pay, Paytm and various bank-backed apps.
As part of the revised guidelines, NPCI has also cut the time for status updates on failed or pending transactions. Users will now receive updates within 10 seconds, down from the previous 30-second window. This move is expected to reduce uncertainty during high traffic periods, when transaction failures are more likely.
Previously, payment apps had to wait for at least 90 seconds before checking the status of a stuck transaction. Under the new norms, they can initiate a status check between 45 to 60 seconds. This is expected to improve backend efficiency and reduce instances of unresolved payments.
To further streamline the process, NPCI has introduced a mechanism where transactions that fail to reach the UPI switch due to technical errors will be automatically marked as failed.
This rule is intended to prevent delays caused by repeated verification attempts and to free up system resources. NPCI has also introduced a cap on the number of status verification attempts per transaction. Banks and apps will be allowed up to three attempts within a two-hour window.
The change is aimed at preventing server overload while maintaining the timely resolution of payment queries.
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