The NPCI is set to introduce interoperability for UPI AutoPay mandates, enabling users to transfer their standing instructions for subscriptions and loan repayments across different UPI apps instead of cancelling and recreating them.
- Users can transfer recurring payment mandates between UPI apps without cancellation
- Merchants can migrate mandates when switching payment gateways seamlessly
- The change supports smaller UPI apps competing with market leaders
What happened
The National Payments Corporation of India is preparing to allow interoperability of UPI AutoPay mandates across different UPI applications. This means users will be able to move their existing recurring payment authorizations—such as subscriptions, insurance premiums, SIPs, and loan repayments—from one digital payment app to another without cancelling and re-registering them.
Similarly, merchants who change their payment gateways or acquiring banks will have the ability to transfer existing payment mandates directly to the new partner, eliminating the need for customers to re-authorize payments. The bank account linked to these mandates will remain unchanged, ensuring continuity of recurring debits from the originally authorized account.
Why it matters
This interoperability will simplify management of recurring payments for both consumers and vendors. Users gain greater control and ease of oversight by having a cross-app view of their active mandates, helping to monitor upcoming debits and reduce payment redundancies or forgotten subscriptions.
Smaller UPI apps such as Navi, FamApp, and Flipkart-backed super.money stand to benefit by making it easier to attract and retain users without locking mandates to a single app. For merchants, the change reduces dependency on existing payment providers and streamlines the process of switching acquiring banks or gateways, fostering greater competition and flexibility in merchant payments infrastructure.
What to watch next
The NPCI is expected to formally unveil the interoperable UPI AutoPay mandate facility at the upcoming Global Fintech Fest in Mumbai. Observers will also look for merchant uptake of this new capability and whether it significantly shifts market shares among UPI apps and payment providers.
Additionally, NPCI is working on a common infrastructure for UPI soundboxes to unify payment confirmations across apps. Combined with recently enabled government provisions around merchant discount rates on UPI, these developments indicate ongoing efforts to deepen and diversify the UPI ecosystem beyond peer-to-peer payments.