Image Source : FILE UPI transactions continue to soar to record levels.
UPI transactions: Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transaction IDs will no longer be allowed to contain special characters, as per new regulations set by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). Any transactions that include special characters in their transaction IDs will be automatically rejected by the central system, starting February 1.
NPCI has taken this step to standardise the process of generating UPI transaction IDs, urging all payment service providers to ensure compliance. In a January 9 circular, NPCI instructed all players in the UPI sector to use only alphanumeric characters for transaction IDs in adherence to UPI technical guidelines. While most entities have adjusted to the new requirement, some still failed to comply which prompted the NPCI to enforce this regulation strictly from next month.
“Reference may be taken from our OC 193 dated March 28, 2024, wherein UPI ecosystem players were advised to used only alphanumeric characters for generating UPI transaction ID. This is to ensure compliance with UPI technical specifications,” as per an official NPCI release.
UPI transactions continue to rise
Meanwhile, UPI transactions continue to soar to record levels. According to NPCI data, the number of UPI transactions hit 16.73 billion in December 2024, marking an 8% increase from 15.48 billion in November. The total value of these transactions reached Rs 23.25 lakh crore in December, compared to Rs 21.55 lakh crore in the previous month. The daily average transaction count also grew to 539.68 million in December, up from 516.07 million in November.
In a separate development, concerns have surfaced regarding a new form of UPI fraud known as the “jumped deposit scam.” Fraudsters reportedly deposit small amounts into users’ accounts before attempting to trick them into authorizing larger fraudulent transactions. However, NPCI has clarified that there have been no official reports of such scams occurring on the UPI platform.
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