Udaipur, January 29, 2025 - The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has announced a new rule for UPI transactions. From February 1, 2025, any UPI transaction ID that contains special characters (like @, #, $, %, &, etc.) will be declined by the central system. 

Why is NPCI Doing This?

NPCI wants all UPI transactions to follow a standard format using only letters (A-Z, a-z) and numbers (0-9). Some banks and apps were not following this rule, so NPCI decided to strictly enforce it.

UPI Transactions Growing Fast

UPI payments have increased massively over the years. In December 2024, UPI transactions reached a record 16.73 billion, which is 8% more than November (15.48 billion transactions).

• December 2024 Transaction Value: Rs 23.25 lakh crore

• November 2024 Transaction Value: Rs 21.55 lakh crore

Fake News About a UPI Scam

Recently, there were news reports about a new UPI scam called ‘Jumped Deposit Scam’. In this scam, fraudsters send small deposits to people's accounts and trick them into approving larger payments. However, NPCI has clarified that this scam is not happening on the UPI platform.

• NPCI’s Statement: Users must enter their UPI PIN to approve any transaction. Just opening a bank or UPI app does not approve payments.

Source: Media Reports