Alert: UPI IDs will be deactivated; not be able to make online payments from 31st December

Unified Payment Interface (UPI) has simplified payments in the field of digital payments. This is why individuals are increasingly using UPI as a payment method. According to statistics, the use of UPI in the country is expanding nearly every month.

However, there is some exciting news for UPI users today. Many UPI IDs can be closed by the NPCI (National Payment Corporation of India). Because of the new NPCI guidelines, many UPI holders would be unable to make payments using their ID after December.

Which UPI IDs will be deactivated:

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) issued a circular to Google Pay, Paytm, and Phone Pay stating that any UPI ID that has not been active for a year, i.e. those customers who have not done any transaction with any of their UPI IDs for a year, must be enabled before December 31, 2023. Closed for the time being.

Let us explain that NPCI is a government organisation with oversight of the country’s retail payment and settlement system. The UPI payment system is regulated by the NPCI.

Why was the new guideline implemented:

The basis for the new guideline, according to NPCI, is that the number of inactive UPI IDs is increasing. UPI ID is connected to a phone number, and many users change their phone number but don’t modify their ID. If that mobile phone number is later assigned to someone else, the issue of wrong payment will arise. In this case, because the user has an inactive ID, the transfer may go to another user.

According to reports, the decision will have the most effect on individuals who use prepaid numbers because they change their numbers the most, while the number of postpaid customers would be less.