The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has announced that mobile numbers linked to the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) will be removed from bank accounts if they have not been active for a considerable period of time. This decision aims to enhance security and reduce the risk of fraud associated with inactive numbers.
The new regulations will come into effect on April 1, 2025. From this date, any mobile number linked to UPI that has remained inactive for 90 days will be delinked from associated bank accounts.
The NPCI has cited increasing instances of cybercrime as a primary reason for this measure. Inactive mobile numbers can create vulnerabilities within banking systems, particularly if telecom providers reassign these numbers to new users, potentially leading to unauthorised access and fraud. Users with bank accounts linked to inactive mobile numbers will face disruptions in their UPI services. This means that transactions through popular payment apps like Google Pay, PhonePe, and Paytm may fail if the linked number is inactive.
If you have a mobile number linked to your bank account that is no longer active, it is crucial to check with your telecom provider (e.g., Jio, Airtel, Vi) to confirm its status. If the number is inactive, users should either reactivate it or update their bank account with a new mobile number. The NPCI has instructed banks and UPI applications to regularly update their records of inactive mobile numbers on a weekly basis to ensure compliance with these new regulations.
Moving forward, explicit user consent will be required for linking or updating mobile numbers associated with UPI IDs. This change is intended to bolster user security and ensure that only active numbers are used for financial transactions.
