The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has issued instructions to payment applications, directing them to disable Unified Payments Interface (UPI) IDs that have remained inactive for over a year by December 31.
This measure aims to prevent inadvertent fund transfers in cases where users switch their mobile numbers without unlinking the previous numbers from the banking system.
According to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), telecom firms can reassign deactivated mobile numbers to new users after a 90-day period.
This situation could lead to inadvertent transfers if individuals fail to update the mobile number linked to their bank account. Third-Party App Providers (TPAP) and Payment Service Providers (PSP) are required to implement necessary measures by the December 31, 2023 deadline.
Users of UPI applications like Google Pay, PhonePe, Paytm, and similar platforms are advised to verify that their UPI ID remains active and unused for no more than one year. It is also crucial to review all phone numbers associated with their UPI IDs and confirm that none of these numbers have been inactive for more than three months.
The circular from NPCI instructs TPAPs and PSP banks to identify UPI IDs, associated UPI numbers, and phone numbers of customers who have not engaged in any financial or non-financial transactions through UPI apps for one year. UPI IDs and UPI numbers of such customers will be deactivated for inward credit transactions, and the corresponding phone numbers will be removed from the UPI mapper.
Customers with deactivated UPI IDs and phone numbers for inward credit transactions must undergo a re-registration process in their UPI apps to re-establish the link with their UPI.
However, they can continue to perform payments and non-financial transactions using their UPI PIN as needed. This initiative aims to enhance security and prevent financial transactions from occurring inadvertently due to changes in mobile numbers.
