NPCI to Reject UPI Transactions with Special Characters in IDs Starting February 2025

Starting February 1, 2025, UPI transactions with special characters in their transaction IDs will be automatically rejected, according to a new directive from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).

UPI Transaction IDs Must Be Alphanumeric In a circular issued on January 9, NPCI instructed all UPI participants to ensure that transaction IDs only contain alphanumeric characters. This is to ensure compliance with UPI’s technical standards. Some entities had been found non-compliant with this rule, prompting the change.

To enforce this, NPCI announced that any UPI transaction ID with special characters will be rejected by the central system. Participants have been asked to follow this rule to prevent transaction failures.

UPI Payments Continue to Grow UPI payments have been growing steadily. In December 2024, UPI transactions hit a record of 16.73 billion, marking an 8% rise from November’s 15.48 billion transactions. The total value of these transactions reached ₹23.25 lakh crore, up from ₹21.55 lakh crore the previous month.

NPCI Clarifies ‘Jumped Deposit’ Scam Concerns NPCI also addressed concerns regarding a new fraud called the ‘Jumped Deposit Scam,’ which allegedly involves small deposits made into users’ accounts to trick them into authorizing larger payments. NPCI clarified that no such incidents have occurred on the UPI platform. They assured users that UPI transactions require explicit authorization through the UPI PIN, preventing automatic payments.

As UPI continues to grow, it is important for users and businesses to stay updated on these changes to avoid disruptions in their transactions.