National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has directed banks and payment apps to stop all peer-to-peer (P2P) ‘collect requests’ on UPI from October 1, 2025, in an effort to curb financial fraud.In a circular dated July 29, NPCI said, “It is hereby informed that by October 1, 2025 UPI P2P collect shall not be allowed to be process in UPI.”“All member banks, Payment Service Providers (PSPs) and UPI apps are hereby directed to implement the necessary changes in their systems and operational processes to ensure that no P2P collect transaction is initiated, routed, or processed on UPI beyond October 1, 2025,” it added, reported PTI.The move means that all banks and UPI apps — including PhonePe, Google Pay, and Paytm — will no longer be able to initiate, route, or process P2P collect transactions after the deadline. At present, the maximum amount that can be collected from another individual per transaction is Rs 2,000, with a daily cap of 50 successful transactions.“By eliminating this feature, UPI reinforces its position as a platform that is fast and easy, while also being secure and reliable. This change, removing a high-risk channel, will significantly reduce fraud. Now, all P2P transactions will be payer-initiated, requiring the user to scan a QR code,” NTT DATA Payment Services India CFO Rahul Jain said.In such cases, the payer will have full control over the transactions they initiate, he noted.NPCI had capped pull transactions at Rs 2,000 in 2019, but fraud incidents continued. “This move will act as a safeguard for users, and such frauds will now be eliminated,” it said.“NPCI’s decision to discontinue UPI ‘collect’ requests closes a loophole long exploited in payment scams, marking a decisive step toward a safer digital economy,” said Reeju Datta, co-founder of Cashfree Payments. He noted that championing user-initiated ‘push’ transactions enhances consumer control and transparency while reinforcing trust in digital payments.
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