New UPI Rules from August 1: Balance Checks, Autopay Mandates to Be Limited

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) is tightening its rules on how UPI (Unified Payments Interface) transactions work especially around the APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) that power everything from balance checks to autopay mandates.

Starting August 1, 2025, new restrictions are being rolled out to ensure the system remains stable, fast, and reliable for everyone.

Here’s a breakdown of what’s changing and how it might affect you.

Daily Limits on Balance Enquiries

One of the most common UPI activities checking your bank balance will soon be restricted. From August 1, you'll only be allowed to check your balance 50 times per day per app. So if you’re using Paytm and PhonePe, that's 50 checks on each, max.

This is aimed at curbing unnecessary traffic on the UPI network and preventing the kind of outages we’ve seen in the past.

Banks will also be required to send balance details automatically with each successful transaction notification to reduce redundant balance queries.

Autopay Mandates Limited to Off-Peak Hours

If you have recurring payments set up like for your SIPs, Netflix, or daily loan deductions, take note: autopay mandates will only be processed during non-peak hours.

Peak hours are defined as:

• 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM
• 5:00 PM – 9:30 PM

You can still create mandates during peak hours, but execution will only occur when the system load is lower. Each mandate gets 1 attempt with 3 retries, and they must operate under controlled transaction rates.

Transaction Status Checks Get Rate-Limited

If a transaction is stuck or delayed, banks and apps will now have to wait at least 90 seconds before pinging the system to check its status. Plus, no more than 3 status checks in a two-hour window per transaction will be allowed.

For certain failure codes, further checks will be blocked, and the transaction will be marked as failed, avoiding unnecessary overload.

Account Linking Restrictions

Want to know which bank accounts are tied to your mobile number? You’ll now be limited to 25 such queries per app per day, and only after you pick the issuing bank. Each attempt will also require explicit user consent before proceeding.

More Compliance, More Monitoring

NPCI is asking PSPs and banks to submit proof by August 31 that they’re queuing and throttling API calls properly. Failure to comply could result in penalties, onboarding bans, or other actions.

Additionally, acquiring banks must undergo an annual audit by CERT-In empanelled auditors, with the first audit due by August 31, 2025.

Why It Matters?

While these changes might seem inconvenient, especially for heavy user,s the goal is simple: keep UPI smooth, stable, and ready for India’s rapidly growing digital economy.

Only one of the 10 affected APIs actually handles money (autopay mandate). The rest are non-financial (like balance checks), so most regular UPI payments won’t be disrupted, even during peak hours.

Read More: No More Free UPI Payment? RBI, NPCI, Finance Ministry Set Sights on UPI Merchant Fees

Conclusion

NPCI’s move is a proactive step to prevent system overloads and maintain performance as UPI scales. Users may need to adjust some habits, but the changes are largely aimed at ensuring a better, faster, and more reliable digital payments ecosystem.

As always, stay informed and be sure to update your apps and banking practices accordingly before August rolls around.

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