The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has launched an awareness campaign titled ‘Demystifying Myths About UPI’. The initiative aims to clear misconceptions about the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and encourage safe digital payment practices.

This campaign comes shortly after NPCI addressed concerns over the so-called ‘Jumped Deposit’ scam, reiterating the security and reliability of the UPI platform.

Common UPI myths and facts

Myth: Opening a UPI or banking app automatically approves payment requests.

Fact:

Simply opening a UPI or bank app does not authorise transactions. Users must navigate to the payment request and explicitly select the “pay” option, followed by entering their UPI PIN, for a transaction to process.

Myth: External parties can directly withdraw funds from your account.

Fact: No external party can initiate or withdraw funds directly. UPI links accounts securely to the user’s registered mobile number and device. Only the user can initiate transactions or withdrawals.

Myth: Entering the UPI PIN for a balance check automatically approves payment requests.

Fact: While a UPI PIN is required to check account balances, it does not automatically authorise payment or withdrawal requests. These are treated as separate, user-initiated transactions.

NPCI said that UPI operates with robust security measures and regulatory oversight. Users can trust the platform for secure, real-time digital payments, it said.