99. 2025 Wrap — NPCI Realm

I. Special Stories

A. UPI bears Visa globally and world’s largest Fast Payments Network

In July-2025, UPI (650.26 million txns per day) surpassed the global card network Visa (639 million txns per day)…. Hurray!

In Dec-2025, the IMF (International Monetary Fund) recognized UPI as the world’s largest retail fast payment network, accounting for roughly 49% of overall fast payments. Hurray!

B. UPI Sneezed, India got Cold!

In 2025, UPI fluctuated on 26th March and then went down again on 12th April.

After two major fluctuation/downtime on UPI, NPCI swung into action and issued a couple of circulars to reduce response times, limit the overuse of API calls, reduction in non-financial activities during peak hours and scrutiny of UPI Apps.

NPCI had set timelines of June and August to implement these changes.

C. Hope of MDR on UPI and disappointment

Since Feb-2025, the payments industry has been speculating about the return of MDR on UPI.

Many thought that the union budget announcement of reduction in subsidy (from Rs.1500 Cr of FY25 to Rs.437 Cr for FY26) on UPI/RuPay is the clue that UPI will have MDR soon.

Payments Council of India (PCI) wrote a letter to the Prime Minister seeking MDR on UPI.

And then June-2025, The Ministry of Finance announced that UPI will continue to be free.

For FY 2024–25, NPCI’s operating income increased by 18.95% (from Rs.2,749 Crore of FY ’24 to Rs.3,270 Crore) and surplus after tax increased by 41.73% (from Rs.1095 Crore of FY’24 to Rs.1,552 crore).

Banks or PAs cannot earn MDR (officially) on UPI but NPCI earns a switching fee. Interesting… isn’t it?

As they say, ‘The House Always Wins’!

D. NPCI’s new subsidiary

In Oct-2025, NPCI formed its 4th subsidiary, NPCI Tech Solutions Ltd (NTSL).

NPCI mothership will continue to drive UPI, RuPay and other payments platforms, subsidiaries will focus on certain platforms/markets.

1. NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL) — For internationalization of UPI and RuPay
2. NPCI Bharat BillPay Ltd (NBBL) — Manages Bharat Connect/BBPS and Banking Connect/IBMB
3. NPCI BHIM Services Ltd (NBSL) — To make the BHIM UPI App great again
4. NPCI Tech Solutions Ltd (NTSL) — to foster FinTech innovation

E. UPI Tax

In July 2025, shops in Bangalore started receiving GST notices based on their UPI collections.

Newspapers started calling it ‘UPI Tax’.

Many small shops stopped accepting UPI and then went on strike to protest against GST notices. Eventually things settled down and shops are back on the UPI network.

For a moment it looked like a challenger had emerged for UPI… that is UPI.

F. UPI Apps — Too big to fail and 30% Capping

2025 started with good news for PhonePe and Google Pay (together have 80–85% marketshare) as NPCI extended the deadline for 30% capping on TPAP to 31st Dec 2026.

In the light of the Indigo fiasco, the topic of too big to fail surfaced again in December. But everyone knows it is not practical to implement 30% capping.

Although WhatsApp is allowed to onboard all its users on WhatsApp Pay (earlier capping of 100Million was removed), NBSL (a subsidiary of NPCI) launched BHIM 3.0 (again… may be third time’s the Charm) and Flipkart’s Super.Money continue to throw money to acquire new users but still the PhonePe and Google Pay continue to dominate the UPI space.

Let’s see how this will play out in 2026.

II. UPI — Features

A. Employment Provident Fund (EPF) withdrawal from UPI

In March-2025, EPFO (Employment Provident Fund Organization) intends to provide a facility for users to withdraw EPF amounts via UPI to their bank accounts.

B. Biometric Authentication for UPI

In Oct-2025, NPCI introduced additional authentication methods apart from existing methods.

NPCI is allowing UIDAI face authentication and Aadhar OTP for UPI PIN set/reset, and on-device biometric authentication for transaction amount of up to Rs.5000 (in the initial phase)

C. UPI Help!

In Oct-2025, NPCI introduced UPI HELP! to provide intelligent conversational support to respond to queries, redressal of grievances and help manage the mandates. NPCI intends to add other services and support in regional languages.

D. Cash withdrawal at Micro ATMs

In Oct-2025, NPCI allowed cash withdrawal through Micro ATMs at Business Correspondent touchpoints via UPI. A user can scan the dynamic UPI QR displayed by the BC and transact using any UPI App.

F. UPI on IoT devices via UPI Circle (Delegated) Payments

In Oct-2025, UPI Circle (Delegated Payments) is extended to IoT devices where in these devices such as Agentic AI, Alexa or TV etc will be a secondary user and can make payments with authorization from the primary user.

G. SBMD → UPI Reserve Pay

In Oct-2025, NPCI renamed UPI Single Block Multi Debit (SBMD) as ‘UPI Reserve Pay’.

A user can set UPI Reserve Pay mandate on Savings account, current account, overdraft account, RuPay Credit Card, and pre-approved credit line for an amount up to Rs. 10,000 for 90 days.

H. Porting of UPI AutoPay Mandates

In Oct-2025, NPCI announced interoperability to the UPI Autopay by 1-Jan-2026.

The interoperability framework will allow users to ‘port mandate’ from one UPI App/TPAP to the other TPAP once in 90 days rolling period.

III. UPI Limits Enhanced

A. UPI Lite limits enhanced

In March — 2025, UPI Lite wallet’s transaction limit increased to Rs.1000 (from Rs.500) and wallet balance limit is increased to Rs.5000 (from Rs.2000)

B. UPI Limit enhancement decision moved to with NPCI

In April-2025, RBI gave freedom to NPCI to enhance the UPI limits and at the same time, gave freedom to banks to add their own limits (<= NPCI’s limit).

C. UPI Limits enhanced for P2M verified merchants on 15-Sep-2025

• Capital markets, insurance, Govt e-Marketplace, Collection, Travel, Credit card Bill Payment, Business/merchant (pre-approved), FX Retail, Term Deposit — Rs.5Lakh
• Jewellery and Initial deposit for account opening — Rs. 2 Lakh

IV. UPI’s domestic Expansion

A. UPI ecosystem expanded to Co-operative Banks

In Jan-2025, Co-operative Banks that are directly allowed to be part of UPI Ecosystem can participate in UPI merchant Acquiring business.

B. PPI wallet is supported on 3rd Party Apps

In Jan-2025, a Full KYCed PPI wallet can be linked to any 3rd party UPI Apps/TPAPs (Amazon Wallet <> PhonePe).

[Earlier the wallet could be linked to only wallet provider’s PPI (Amazon wallet <> Amazon UPI App)]

C. Participation of SFBs in UPI linked to Credit Line

In Feb-2025, NPCI allowed pre-approved credit lines of the Small Finance Bank (SFB) to be linked to UPI.

(Earlier only the scheduled commercial banks were allowed to participate)

F. UPI + Multi signatory accounts

In Oct-2025, NPCI allowed linking of UPI to multi-signatory accounts (current accounts or joint accounts)

(Types of accounts supported earlier: savings account, OD account, NRE account).

V. UPI’s Internationalization

A. UPI Acceptance abroad

This year, UPI expanded its footprint abroad

• UAE — partnership with Magnati to accept UPI in Dubai Duty Free shops (Jan)
• Singapore — Partnered with HitPay to enable UPI acceptance across 12,000 merchants (March)
• Trinidad and Tobago — NIPL announced entry of UPI into first Caribbean nation (July)
• Qatar — UPI will be accepted in Doha Airport’s Duty Free shops (Oct)
• Japan — NIPL and NTT Data signed a MOU for enabling UPI (Oct)
• Peru — NIPL will support Peru to build its own UPI type of RTP (Nov)
• Cambodia — Indian tourists can make UPI payments on Cambodia’s national QR — KHQR (Dec)

With this, UPI will be available in 9 countries (France, Singapore, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, UAE, Qatar, Cambodia) and soon will be available in 2 more countries (Japan, Trinidad and Tobago).

B. UPI and other RTP Linking

• In April-2025, Nexus Global Payments (NGP), managing body of Project Nexus, was incorporated as a Non-Profit Organization.

Project Nexus is interlinking of Real Time Payments rails of 5 countries: India (UPI) <> Malaysia (DuitNow) <> Thailand (PromptPay) <> Singapore (PayNow) <> Philippines (InstaPay)

• In Nov-2025, NIPL announced UPI integration with the European Central Bank’s TIPS (TARGET Instant Payment Settlement System) and Bahrain’s Fawri+

C. Indian Post and Inward Remittance

In July-2025, NIPL (NPCI International Payments Ltd) signed an MOU with Indian Post for inward remittance to India. The system will work on UPI and Universal Postal Union (UPU) Interconnection Platform (IP) to enable seamless, cost efficient and real-time inward remittance to India.

D. UPI on PayPal World

In August-2025, Payments giant announced an ambitious product, “PayPal Word”.

With strategic partnerships with the world’s largest payment platform and wallets to connect various wallets and RTPs across the world to provide solutions for consumers to make international payments.

PayPal World’s partnerships: UPI (India), Venmo (USA), Mercado Pago (Brazil), Tenpay Global (China)

VI. UPI — Operations

A. To make the chargeback management efficient, NPCI is implemented

• Auto Acceptance/rejection of chargeback basis TCC /RET raised by the beneficiary bank <Feb>
• Exempting capping of chargeback raised on fraudulent transactions <March>

B. More procedures on UPI Number Mapper

In March-2025, NPCI mandated all banks/TPAPs to check mobile numbers against Mobile Number Revocation List (MNRL)/Digital Intelligence Platform (DIP) on a weekly basis.

Also, TPAPs are mandated to get explicit consent from users and to provide ‘opt-out’ or porting of UPI Number. And all PSPs to report monthly data to NPCI

C. UPI Lite

By 30-Jun-2025, all UPI Apps/ TPAPs are to provide the transfer out function to withdraw UPI Lite wallet balance amount to source account without disabling UPI Lite wallet, and refund balance amount of wallets that are not active for six months.

VII. UPI — Fighting Frauds

A. Blocked QR Share & Pay for UPI Global P2M

In April, NPCI blocked all QR Share & Pay for all UPI Global P2M transactions; this to safeguard the users.

B. Beneficiary Name verification and Display

NPCI has mandated UPI Apps to implement display of ultimate beneficiary name for P2M and P2PM payments and disable any feature that allows users to change beneficiary name by 30-June-2025.

C. Stopping UPI P2P Pull payments

NPCI stopped the pull (collect Request) payments for P2P (Person 2 Person) cases by 1-Oct-2025.

VIII. NPCI’s Other Products

A. FasTag black listing and penalty

In Feb-2025, NPCI brought new rules for FasTag

• A user should recharge FasTag at least 60 mins before or 10 mins after crossing the toll.
• Users who do not have minimum balance (=>Rs.100) and do KYC will be blacklisted

B. NACH

• By 28-Feb-2025, NPCI mandated all participating banks to provide online Cancel / Amend / Suspend & Revoke functionality, and banks, PA and merchants to show all destination banks without any exclusion.
• In June 2025, NPCI gave a facelift to the NACH platform (NACH 3.0). The upgrade is mainly to provide enhanced experience and security systems that are used by NACH participant banks.

C. BBPS — PA + COU combo

In Aug-2025, NBBL issued notice based on RBI’s guidelines: Agent Institutes to route BBPS transactions through COU and the same COU should act as the Payment Aggregator to process the customer transactions by 30-June-2026

This PA + COU combo is to stop the fragmentation in transaction flow.

D. Banking Connect — Interoperable Mobile and Net-Banking

In Oct-2025, NBBL (NPCI’s subsidiary) launched Banking Connect (Interoperable Mobile and Net-Banking) to replace existing legacy net-banking flow. The product is in the closed user group phase and may take a long time to mature!