What is a UPI Transaction

NPCI has revolutionised the payment system in India by launching UPI, a payment system that is slowly replacing the traditional way of offline transactions. One can now make transactions of any small value through this app without paying any extra fee. There is no need to carry your wallet as a UPI transaction can be carried out directly through your smartphone.

What is a UPI Transaction

Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transaction is a digital payment made via a mobile app to transfer money between bank accounts, pay merchants, or make payments to individuals.

UPI is a real-time payment system developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), an RBI-regulated authority to facilitate P2P (Peer-to-Peer) transactions. It also facilitates P2M (Person to Merchant) and P2PM (for small merchants and unorganized retail sector) transactions.

Types of UPI Transactions

A user can perform the following types of transactions through the UPI app:

Send Money

You can send money instantly with the help of your UPI app by following the beneficiary’s details.

The details include your beneficiary’s VPA registered on UPI, mobile number registered on UPI,

account number or IFSC code.

You will have to enter your UPI PIN to complete the transaction.

Receive Money

You can receive money with your UPI app using your virtual payment address (VPA), mobile number,

and generated QR code.

You can raise a payment request by entering the UPI ID of the user.

The user approves this request in his/her app and the money is credited to your account.

Balance Enquiry

You can make a balance enquiry by visiting the home screen of your UPI app and selecting the

‘Request Balance’ option for the linked accounts under your selected UPI ID.

You can also check your account balance by dialling *99# from your phone and selecting the ‘Check

Balance’ option.

Bill Payment

You can also pay your bills from your UPI app by finding the bill pay section and choosing the biller.

All your utility bills can be paid instantly from your UPI app with the help of Bharat BillPay.

UPI Mandate

With the help of your UPI app, you can pre-authorize a transaction to debit your bank account later.

This service is provided by most of the private and public sector banks.

You can do this by following the steps mentioned below:

• Select the UPI mandate option
• Add the payee’s UPI ID, start and end dates,
• Now enter the amount you want the bank to debit regularly
• Select the bank account from which the debit has to be mandated
• Enter the UPI PIN to confirm.

UPI Transaction Limits

Here you may find the UPI transaction limit defined by various payment apps.

UPI Transaction Limit per day	Rs. 1 lakh
Maximum transfer limit range	Between Rs. 25,000 to Rs. 1 lakh
For merchant transactions	Up to Rs. 2 lakh
For tax payments and IPO	Up to Rs. 5 lakh

Secure UPI Payment Apps 

UPI Apps	Google Pay	BHIM	PhonePe	Paytm	MobiKwik	Cred
	Navi	Tata Neu	Lazypay	PayZapp	iMobile Pay

How to Perform UPI Transaction

To perform a UPI transaction, you need to follow the below-mentioned simple steps:

Step 1: Log in to your UPI app on your smartphone.

Step 2: Select the ‘Send Money/Payment’ option and enter the beneficiary’s Virtual ID (VPA) or mobile number.

Step 3: Enter the amount to want to transfer and select the account to debit.

Step 4: Recheck the payment details and further click on ‘Confirm’.

Step 5: Enter your UPI PIN to complete the transaction.

Once you receive the message of ‘Success’ or ‘Money Successfully Transferred’ that means the money has been transferred to the beneficiary’s account safely.

It is noteworthy that your app’s PIN and UPI PIN can be different. Enter the correct PIN wherever required.

UPI Transaction through UPI Lite

UPI Lite is a type of digital account that permits users to make payments or UPI transactions of lower value, instantly. UPI Lite has been designed to simplify everyday transaction purchases.

Here’s how you can make payments via UPI Lite from your smartphone:

Step 1: Open your specific mobile app, such as Google Pay, Paytm, PhonePe, BHIM, PayZapp, MobiKwik, etc. that supports UPI Lite to further select the UPI Lite option.

Step 2: Pay the desired amount by entering the recipient’s phone number or scanning the QR code.

Step 3: The amount you want to pay should not exceed Rs. 500 via UPI Lite.

Step 4: Click on ‘Pay’ to complete your UPI transaction.

What is UPI PIN 

A UPI PIN is a secure 4 to 6-digit personal identification number that is used to authorize UPI transactions through various digital payment apps.

How is UPI App PIN different from UPI Transaction PIN

UPI App PIN is used to open the specific app to make the UPI transaction, whereas UPI Transaction PIN authenticates that you confirm to transfer the entered amount to the added beneficiary. Your UPI PIN is directly synced with your bank account which allows access for you to transfer funds.

What is UPI Reference Number

UPI reference number is a 12-digit code that is allocated to each UPI transaction. This reference number is generated when you make a UPI payment or transfer money.

UPI reference number helps to track and identify a specific transaction within the UPI system. This number is also termed UTR (Unique Transaction Reference).

How to Raise Grievances Related to UPI Transactions

Users can raise a complaint related to UPI transactions on the PSP app / TPAP app. The complaint can be raised for both types of transactions, such as fund transfers and merchant transactions.

Steps to Raise Grievances Related to UPI Transactions

Below-stated are the simple steps to raise a complaint regarding any of your UPI transactions:

Step 1: Visit the official website of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) – https://www.npci.org.in/

Step 2: At the top of the page – Under the ‘What We Do’ section, select the ‘UPI’ option and tap on the ‘Dispute Redressal Mechanism’.

Step 3: Go down the page and select the ‘Transaction’ option under the ‘Complaint’ section.

Step 4: Select the ‘Nature of the transaction’ as per your complaint, related to various drop downs, such as Transaction, PIN, Account, Registration, SMS, Login and other.

Step 5: Enter the feedback in the right-hand side of the page and click on ‘Submit’.

Step 6: Mention your bank’s name, transaction ID, UPI ID, amount, transaction date, and your registered email ID.

Step 7: Enter your registered mobile number and upload a photo of your updated bank account statement to complete the process.

How to Know UPI Transaction Details

1. Open your UPI-supported banking app and navigate to the ‘Transaction History’ section.
2. Click on the relevant transaction with the UPI reference number to view its details.
3. The transaction status will be displayed, indicating whether it is pending, successful, or failed.

Important Points to Remember While Doing UPI Transactions

Consider the below-mentioned suggestions before doing any UPI transaction:

Points to remember

• UPI Payments are irreversible; once made, they do not have an undo option
• Do not share your UPI PIN with anyone
• Identify the person before sending money and never send it to any unknown number or QR code
• No UPI PIN is required while receiving payments from other parties
• Always verify the details of the beneficiary while doing the UPI transactions
• Do not accept unknown collect requests, as it enables the user to collect payments
• Beware of the fraudsters by avoiding any unknown request to receive or collect money

How is UPI Transaction Different from IMPS, NEFT & RTGS

Transaction Type	UPI	IMPS	NEFT	RTGS
Fund Settlement Time	Instant	Instant	30 minutes	Real-time
Transaction Limit	From Rs. 25,000 to Rs. 1 lakh per day.	Daily transfer limit up to Rs. 5 lakh.	No limit on the minimum or maximum amount. Upper limit is Rs. 50,000 per transaction.	Minimum amount up to Rs. 2 lakh with no maximum transfer limit.
Usage	For individuals and retailers	For Individuals	Individuals/Enterprises	For Institutions and organizations

UPI Transaction FAQs

Q. How much time does it take for a UPI transaction?

Ans. The UPI transactions are instant and do not take even one minute to transfer money from one account to another.

Q. What are the UPI transaction charges?

Ans. There are no UPI transaction charges levied by the payment apps to consumers to make UPI transactions for Peer-to-Peer (P2P) or Peer-to-merchant (P2M) payments. However, it is chargeable to merchants for interchange fee on transactions above a certain amount.

Q. How to check UPI transaction status?

Ans. You can check the status of your UPI transaction with the help of your UPI app, your bank’s mobile app, and net banking and SMS notifications.

Q. Is there any chance to track transactions through UPI ID?

Ans. Yes, you can track your UPI transactions via UPI ID by using your bank’s UPI app by navigating it to reach the transaction history or payment history section and clicking on the particular section you want to check.

Q. How do I know who sent me money through UPI? 

Ans. To know who sent you the money through UPI, you need to open your UPI app, navigate the payment history section, and check the recent transaction in which the money is credited.

Q. Can I get my money back after a UPI transaction? 

Ans. If you want to get your money back after you made a UPI transaction, you may choose from various options, such as contacting the recipient you sent money, contacting the UPI app’s or bank’s customer care department, by filing a complaint with NPCI or escalating to the banking ombudsman.

Q. Where can I complain about UPI transactions?

Ans. To file a complaint regarding any of your UPI transactions, you need to visit the NPCI’s official website and raise an online dispute via their dispute redressal program.

Q. What happens when a UPI transaction fails but the money is debited from the account?

Ans. If your payments fail or do not go through, please contact the bank immediately and resolve the issue as soon as possible.