MUMBAI: Starting August 1, using UPI will come with a set of new rules aimed at improving transaction speed, reducing system load, and making payments safer.

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has issued fresh guidelines for all members of the UPI ecosystem, including banks and payment apps, which must be implemented by July 31.

One of the major changes is a cap on how many times users can check their account balance through a UPI app.

From next month, each app will allow a maximum of 50 balance enquiries per customer per day, within a rolling 24-hour period.

This limit is per app, meaning a user can still check their balance separately on different UPI apps.

Importantly, these requests must be initiated by the user, not automatically by the app, as per the circular.

Banks will also be required to display the available account balance after every successful UPI payment.

For auto-pay transactions, NPCI has fixed specific time slots to avoid network congestion.

Scheduled payments will only be processed before 10am, between 1pm and 5pm, or after 9:30 pm.

Peak hours -- when UPI usage is highest -- are defined as 10am to 1pm and 5pm to 9:30pm, during which auto-pay executions will not take place.

The number of times users can view the list of bank accounts linked to their UPI profile will also be limited to 25 times per day.

For pending transactions, users can check the payment status only three times, with at least a 90-second gap between each attempt.

Payment reversal requests will also be capped at 10 per month, with a maximum of five per sender.

In a step to prevent fraud and payment mistakes, UPI apps will now display the recipient’s registered bank name before a transaction is completed.

This will help users verify they are sending money to the right person or business.

NPCI has warned that failure to implement these rules could lead to strict action, including penalties, suspension of new customer onboarding, or even restrictions on API access for UPI services.