The primary goal is to enhance user confidence and security by ensuring that customers always see the verified, official name of the payment recipient. This change aims to reduce fraud and errors in any type of digital transactions.
The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), which oversees digital payment systems such as Bharat Bill Pay, UPI and RuPay, has issued a circular introducing new mandatory rules for all UPI applications—including Google Pay, PhonePe, Paytm, and BHIM—effective from June 30, 2025.
Released by the Department of Telecom(DoT), the Financial Fraud Risk Indicator will essentially analyse certain phone numbers and eventually block such numbers from trying to attempt any kind of cybercriminal activity. Launched under Digital Intelligence Platform, the idea is to create a secure payments ecosystem and encourage more people to openly adopt digital transactions across the country.
The FRI system will help banks and non banking institutions in identifying the risky transactions before they are completed, thus preventing innocent users from falling prey to scammers.
Key changes in UPI transactions rules
Display of Ultimate Beneficiary Name Only
- UPI apps must show only the recipient’s official bank-registered name (as fetched from the Validate Address API) on the pre-transaction details page and in transaction histories.
- Names from QR codes, user-defined names, or any other custom logic will no longer be displayed to the payer.
Restriction on modifying beneficiary name
- UPI apps must disable any feature that allows users to modify or customize the beneficiary’s name within the app interface.
Scope of Application
These rules apply to all peer-to-peer (P2P) and peer-to-merchant (P2PM) UPI transactions, covering payments between individuals as well as to merchants or shopkeepers.
Benefits is the new rules
This new rule shall prevent fraudsters from using misleading or fake names to deceive users.
The change shall also bring transparency and trust
The updated rules will ensure users can verify the true identity of the recipient before completing a transaction.
This change shall support the establishment of a consistent standard for beneficiary identification across all UPI platforms.
Compliance and enforcement
- All UPI ecosystem members must implement these changes by June 30, 2025.
- Failure to comply after this date will be treated as a violation of NPCI guidelines.
From June 30, 2025, all major UPI apps must comply with NPCI’s new rules, displaying only the official bank-registered name of the recipient in every transaction. This regulatory update is designed to improve safety, transparency, and consistency for digital payments in India.
