NPCI to deactivate THESE UPI IDs by December 31, 2023: How protect such accounts

livemint.com:

NPCI) has recently instructed payment applications to disable UPI IDs that have remained inactive for over a year by December 31, reported Business Today. This measure aims to avoid inadvertent fund transfers in cases where customers switch their mobile numbers without unlinking their previous numbers from the banking system.

As per the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), telecom firms have the authority to assign deactivated mobile numbers to new users after a 90-day period. This situation may give rise to inadvertent transfers if individuals fail to update the mobile number linked to their bank account.

Consequently, Third Party App Providers (TPAP) and Payment Service Providers (PSP) must take necessary measures by the deadline of December 31, 2023. The report adds that individuals using any UPI application such as Google Pay, PhonePe, Paytm, or similar platforms must verify that their UPI ID remains active and unused for a period not exceeding one year.

Additionally, it is crucial to review all phone numbers associated with their UPI IDs and confirm that none of these numbers have been inactive for more than three months. Moreover, the circular from NPCI instructs Third Party App Providers (TPAPs) and Payment Service Provider (PSP) banks to identify UPI IDs, associated UPI numbers, and phone numbers of customers who have not engaged in any financial or non-financial transactions through UPI apps for a period of one year.

UPI IDs and UPI numbers belonging to such customers will be deactivated for inward credit transactions, and the corresponding phone numbers will be removed from the UPI mapper. Customers with deactivated UPI IDs and phone numbers for inward credit transactions must undergo a re-registration