UPI fraud: Govt plans 4-hour delay for first user-to-user transactions over Rs 2K

In this digital era, there is an increasing trend of online financial fraud. In order to curb fraud in digital payments, the government is considering a new measure.

As per the plan, the government may introduce a minimum time limit for the first transaction between two people, especially for amounts over Rs 2,000, as per a report by The Indian Express. 

Officials suggest a four-hour window for such transactions, covering various digital payment methods like IMPS, RTGS, and UPI.

This regulation would apply to all initial transactions between users, regardless of their transaction history.

Currently, when someone creates a new UPI account, they can send a maximum of Rs 5,000 in the first 24 hours.

Similarly, for NEFT, up to Rs 50,000 can be transferred in the first 24 hours after activating a beneficiary.

The proposed plan aims to impose a four-hour time limit for the first payment exceeding Rs 2,000 to a new user.

This discussion is set to take place in a meeting involving government officials, the Reserve Bank of India, public and private banks, and tech companies like Google and Razorpay, as per the report.

A senior government official explained that users would have a four-hour window after making a payment for the first time to reverse or modify it, similar to the NEFT process.

Initially, there was no amount limit thresholds, but after discussions with the industry, it was realised that small-scale transactions, like buying groceries, could be affected.

As a result, there is a plan to provide flexibility for transactions under Rs 2,000, The Indian Express report added.