New API Restrictions Imposed by NPCI: Significant Alterations Foreseen for UPI Users, Effective from August 1
Effective August 1, 2025, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) will enforce new guidelines on the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) system to curb system overload, prevent outages, and enhance system efficiency. These changes target the usage of essential APIs, including balance inquiries, transaction status checks, and autopay mandates.
In a circular issued on May 21, 2025, NPCI has mandated banks and payment service providers (PSPs) to implement usage limits on the ten most frequently used APIs by July 31, 2025. This move aims to control excessive API calls that may strain the UPI system.
More specifically, effective August 1, users can conduct a maximum of 50 balance inquiries per app per day. Regular users of multiple UPI apps should note that this quota is applied separately on each app. Furthermore, banks and payment apps are advised to delay transaction status checks to prevent system overloading.
Linked bank account queries will be restricted to 25 times per app per day with explicit user consent. Autopay mandates will be executed during non-peak hours (outside 10 AM-1 PM and 5 PM-9:30 PM), with each mandate receiving one attempt and up to three retries operating under controlled transaction rates. Transaction status checks will be limited to three inquiries within a 2-hour window per transaction.
To monitor compliance, banks and PSPs are required to continuously monitor API usage and adhere to NPCI's speed and transaction per second limits. Non-compliance may lead to penalties such as usage restrictions, financial penalties, suspension of new user onboarding, or other measures deemed fit by NPCI.
From August 1, 2025, UPI banks and PSPs must carefully manage API usage, especially on balance inquiries and transaction checks, continuously monitor usage, and ensure operations do not overload the system. Adhering to these guidelines will contribute to maintaining system stability and improving the user experience across India's vast digital payments ecosystem.
Starting from August 1, 2025, UPI banks and payment service providers (PSPs) must adhere to new guidelines for API usage, focusing on balance inquiries, transaction status checks, and autopay mandates. In the finance industry, these changes aim to enhance technology efficiency within the digital payments sector. By following these rules, businesses can help prevent outages and system overload, thereby improving the user experience and maintaining system stability.
