As per the new rules related to UPI, transactions from the ids which contain special characters will be blocked from February 1st. If you are using any such UPI app which uses special characters in the transaction ID, then the transaction will be declined by the central system. The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has issued a circular stating that transactions with IDs containing special characters will be stopped. The move is part of NPCI’s efforts to standardize the UPI transaction ID generation process, requiring all players in the payment ecosystem to use only alphanumeric characters and avoid special characters.

This means users can create IDs using letters between A-Z and a-z and numbers between 0-9. Transactions with IDs containing special characters like @, #, % and $ will not be accepted. IDs may be blocked for non-compliance.

NPCI has directed all companies to include only alphanumeric characters in the transaction ID, with the new rules set to take effect from February 1. This means that any app failing to comply will not be able to process UPI payments. The responsibility to adhere to these guidelines rests with the apps themselves.

Orders Were Issued Earlier Too

NPCI had previously issued directives to standardize the process. In March of last year, it was mandated that the transaction ID should consist of 35 characters. Prior to this, transaction IDs ranged from 4 to 35 characters. As a result, the directive was issued to standardize IDs to a fixed 35-character format.

UPI’s Dominance in Digital Payments

According to reports from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), UPI’s share of total digital payments in the country has surged to 83 percent over the past five years, up from 34 percent in 2019. In contrast, transactions through NEFT, RTGS, IMPS, credit, and debit cards have decreased to 17 percent of total digital payments, down from 66 percent in 2019.

What Is UPI Transaction?

UPI (Unified Payments Interface) is a popular payment platform used in several countries, including India. UPI transactions are on the rise, not just in cities but also in rural regions. The government has implemented various measures to enhance the digital payment experience for customers. Now, once again, significant changes are being introduced to the rules governing UPI.