Unified Payments Interface (UPI) Lite users won’t have to disable the service to withdraw their money. In a recent circular, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) instructed issuer banks, payment service provider (PSP) banks, and applications that use UPI Lite to allow the “transfer out” feature by March 31, 2025.
What Changes For UPI Lite Users?
At the moment, UPI Lite does not offer the ability to withdraw money; customers may only deposit money in their wallets. The remaining money is then paid back to the user’s bank account, but to access their balance, they must first disable UPI Lite.
The new ‘transfer out’ feature will change this.
Users won’t have to disable UPI Lite to withdraw their amount and return it to their associated bank account.
Purpose Code 46 has been allocated by NPCI to identify these transactions.
Key Updates In UPI Lite
- Improved reconciliation: Issuer banks are required to keep track of their Lite Reference Number (LRN) balances and perform daily reconciliations with NPCI data.
- More robust security measures: App passcodes, biometric authentication, or pattern locks will be required during login for UPI apps that have active UPI Lite. The goal of this stage is to stop unauthorised access.
How UPI Lite Is Enabled
- On your smartphone, launch the UPI app.
- To activate UPI Lite, select the appropriate option.
- Agree to the terms and conditions.
- Put in the amount you want to add.
- Select the associated bank account.
- Use your UPI PIN for authentication.
Users don’t need to input a UPI PIN to make minor payments once it’s active.
