India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) will see significant changes From August 1, 2025. This changes will be made in aim to reduce system overload and improve reliability. The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has issued new guidelines that will impact how banks and payment apps like PhonePe, Paytm, Google Pay and others operate on the UPI network.
According to a circular issued on May 21, 2025, banks and Payment Service Providers (PSPs) must limit the use of 10 key UPI APIs by July 31, 2025, in order to avoid disruptions and outages during high-traffic periods.
This changes includes like checking your account balance, setting up or running autopay and tracking your payment status. In simple terms, UPI users will now have a daily limit on how many times they can do these things.
Key UPI API Limits from August 1
Here’s what will change for users and service providers:
Balance Enquiries
Limit: 50 checks per app, per user, per day.
Example: If you use both Paytm and PhonePe, you’ll get 50 balance checks on each.
Linked Account Queries
Limit: 25 queries per app, per day.
Note: These will now require explicit user consent.
Autopay Mandates
Will only be processed outside peak hours (10 AM–1 PM and 5 PM–9:30 PM).
Only 1 attempt per mandate with up to 3 retries allowed. “A maximum of 1 attempt, with 3 retries per mandate, can be initiated at moderated TPS only during non-peak hours for autopay mandate”, the circular explains.
Transactions will run at controlled speeds.
Transaction Status Checks; Banks and apps must wait 90 seconds after a transaction before checking its status.
Only 3 status checks will allow within a 2-hour window for the same transaction.]
System-Initiated API Calls
API Calls will be restricted during busy hours specifically from 10 AM to 1 PM and 5 PM to 9:30 PM to ease system load.
Compliance Rules for Banks & Apps
To ensure proper enforcement, the NPCI has laid out strict compliance measures:
By August 31, 2025, banks and PSPs must submit undertakings confirming they are managing API usage properly.
Acquiring banks must complete annual system audits by CERT-In-approved auditors starting from the same date.
What Happens If Rules Ignored?
- If banks or payment apps don’t follow these rules could lead to:
- API access restrictions
- Financial penalties
- Suspension of new customer onboarding
- Any other action deemed necessary by NPCI
Why These Changes Matter
These new limits aim to:
- Prevent UPI outages during peak hours
- Reduce API overload
- Improve overall speed, reliability, and user experience
