From October 1, 2025, UPI to Retire ‘Money Request’ Feature in Bid to Curb Frauds

Starting October 1, 2025, the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) will undergo a key change. The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has announced that the ‘money request’ option for person-to-person (P2P) transfers will be discontinued to curb rising frauds.

The feature, designed as a convenient way to split bills or send reminders for pending payments, had become a tool for scammers. Fraudsters frequently sent fake requests, and unsuspecting users—thinking they were confirming genuine payments—ended up authorising transfers from their accounts.

In a directive to banks, UPI apps and payment service providers, NPCI made the order explicit: “From October 2, no P2P collect transaction should be initiated, routed or processed.” Systems will now be updated to block such requests altogether.

What stays the same

This change affects only P2P “collect” transactions. All other UPI functions remain intact, including:

• Sending money via UPI ID, mobile number or bank details.

• Payments through QR codes.

• Approving collection requests from verified merchants such as e-commerce platforms or delivery apps.

Merchant requests will continue with existing higher transaction limits. Earlier, P2P requests were capped at ₹2,000 per transaction.

Safety over convenience

NPCI has framed the move as a step to strengthen security and preserve trust in UPI, India’s most popular digital payments platform, which processes billions of transactions monthly.

While users will lose the shortcut of raising direct requests, they can still share their UPI ID, generate QR codes, or simply send reminders over messaging apps.

“By shutting down one of UPI’s weakest security links, we aim to protect consumers from careless approvals of fraudulent requests,” NPCI said.

What it means for users

For most people, the impact will be minor. Sending and receiving money remains instant, free and widely accepted. The only missing element will be the ability to send a polite UPI nudge—a small trade-off for fewer fraud risks.

With this move, UPI’s future is shifting towards tighter safeguards and fewer shortcuts, ensuring every tap and swipe is more secure.