New Delhi: In a move aimed at reducing system load, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has announced new guidelines for UPI services starting August 1.
The updated norms will affect how often users can check their account balances or view linked accounts via UPI apps and will introduce fixed time slots for AutoPay transactions. NPCI has clarified that these changes are part of an effort to address infrastructure load and improve system stability during peak usage hours.
According to NPCI, starting August 1, users will be allowed to check their bank account balance only 50 times per day on UPI platforms. In addition, the number of times a user can view bank accounts linked to their mobile number will be restricted to 25 times a day.
These caps are being introduced to manage excessive API calls made through UPI apps — a trend that NPCI claims has been contributing to transaction failures and network slowdowns. With over 11 billion transactions recorded in June 2024 alone, the pressure on the UPI network has grown significantly, especially during peak hours.
Another key update is the introduction of time slots for AutoPay transactions. From next month, recurring payments such as subscription fees, utility bills, EMIs, and other automated transactions will be processed in scheduled windows instead of being distributed randomly across the day.
NPCI said this will help distribute system load more efficiently, aiming to reduce congestion during high traffic hours while ensuring timely processing of scheduled transactions.
NPCI clarified that there will be no revision to the existing UPI transaction caps. The per-transaction limit remains at Rs 1 lakh for most categories, while specific segments such as healthcare and education will continue to have a higher cap of Rs 5 lakh.
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