New UPI Rules Take Effect in India from August 1, 2025
India has launched a new era for digital payments as the rules of the updated Unified Payments Interface (UPI) officially apply on August 1, 2025. The National Payments Corporation of India of India (NPCI) was rolled out, designed to increase safety, increase efficiency, and ensure that these changes are implemented.
Daily Account Balance Enquiry Limit Introduced
A significant update is the new restriction on how often users can check their bank balance using UPI apps. Previously, unlimited balance checks were allowed. Now, users may only check their bank account balance up to 50 times per day on each UPI app. This measure is meant to reduce strain on banking systems during peak hours and curb unnecessary system queries.
UPI apps will automatically display the latest balance after every transaction, further minimizing the need for repeated manual checks.
Autopay Mandates Now Restricted to Non-Peak Hours
The processing of recurring payments such as subscription charges, loans, and utility bills via UPI Autopay has also been regulated. From now on, all such autopay requests will be executed strictly during non-peak hours before 10:00 a.m. and after 9:30 p.m. instead of throughout the day. In addition, each recurring payment mandate now gets only one initial attempt and three retries if it fails, making a total of four tries per mandate. This step ensures that the system remains responsive and reduces the chances of failed mandate executions during periods of high activity.
New Limits for Linked Account and Transaction Status Inquiries
Another noteworthy update caps the number of times users can view their list of linked bank accounts on a UPI app to 25 per day. Similarly, transaction status may be refreshed only three times per transaction, helping prevent repeated server requests that slow down the system.
Enhanced Security and Authentication for New Account Linking
UPI users will notice stricter security checks when attempting to link a new bank account. Banks and apps are required to implement additional verification steps, adding a layer of protection against unauthorized access. The authentication process will involve stronger user validation protocols to ensure only legitimate account holders can link new accounts.
Inactive UPI ID Deactivation and Fast Transaction Responses
Any UPI ID that has not been active for over 12 months will automatically be deactivated to curb potential misuse. Meanwhile, UPI apps must now provide success or failure confirmation for transactions within seconds, greatly reducing the wait time for users and ending the confusion caused by prolonged "Processing" status.
No Change in Transaction Amount Limits
Despite these operational changes, the core UPI payment limits remain unchanged. The standard daily transaction cap is still ₹1 lakh per user, with higher limits for certain transactions such as educational fees, taxes, or IPO applications.
What Remains Unchanged
- Users can continue making payments, merchant transfers, and peer-to-peer transactions as earlier.
- UPI Lite and UPI Circle remain unaffected by these updates.
- There are no charges or GST fees introduced for UPI transactions.
- The overall cap on the number of merchant payments remains uncapped, while peer-to-peer transfers still have a 20-transaction-per-day limit.
Why These Changes Were Needed
UPI has experienced explosive growth, processing over 18.4 billion transactions worth ₹24.04 lakh crore in June 2025 alone. The updated rules were necessary to ensure system reliability, reduce transaction failures, and support the expanded role of UPI in both rural and international markets.
Users will, overall, notice a more stable, secure, and seamless UPI experience, with most changes handled automatically in the background by their apps.