If you have ever received a call saying, “Sir, you have got a cashback of ₹5,000. To claim it, just approve the request on your UPI app…”, be alert!
The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has taken a major step to stop such scams.
From October 1, 2025, all banks and payment apps like Google Pay, PhonePe, and Paytm will completely stop the Peer-to-Peer (P2P) ‘Collect Request’ feature on UPI. This move will help protect crores of users from online fraud.
What is a ‘Collect Request’?
A ‘Collect Request’ (also called a Pull Transaction) lets you ask someone for money through UPI. For example, if your friend Rahul owes you ₹500, you can enter his UPI ID in your app, send a collect request, and he can approve it by entering his UPI PIN.
This feature was meant for friendly reminders, but fraudsters started misusing it.
How the Fraud Worked
Scammers used tricks like fake lotteries, cashback offers, job opportunities, or OLX sales. They claimed they were sending you money but actually sent a payment request.
Many people, thinking they needed to enter their UPI PIN to receive the money, unknowingly approved the request—resulting in money being deducted from their account and sent to the fraudster.
Why NPCI Made This Change
NPCI’s circular clearly states that from October 1, 2025, P2P collect requests will no longer be processed. This ban applies only to money requests from one regular user to another.
You can still:
Pay merchants on Flipkart, Amazon, Swiggy, IRCTC, etc. (merchant collect requests will work as usual)
Send money by scanning QR codes, using mobile numbers, or entering UPI IDs (Push Transactions)
Earlier, NPCI had reduced the collect request limit to ₹2,000 per transaction to curb fraud, but scammers kept finding new tricks. Since UPI now has over 40 crore users and handles 1,946 crore+ transactions monthly, stronger action was needed.
What This Means for You
For regular UPI users, this is good news. You won’t have to worry about accidentally approving a fake request.
Your daily payments, merchant transactions,
and QR code scans will work normally—only the option for common users to send ‘money requests’ to each other will be removed. This makes your UPI transactions safer than ever.
