What is auto top-up of UPI Lite? New feature to be rolled out from Oct 31 — all you need to know

If you are using UPI Lite for small-value transactions, then there is good news for you. Starting October 31, you will be able to use auto top-up option for reloading the amount of your choice in your UPI Lite account.

By issuing a circular dated August 27, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has announced that this UPI Lite feature will soon go live with effect from October 31 this year.

The UPI Lite balance will be automatically reloaded by an amount chosen by the user. This is meant to facilitate the PIN-less transactions below ₹500 with a maximum UPI Lite balance limit of ₹2,000 at any point of time.

However, it is vital to note that the reloading will not lead to exceeding of UPI Lite balance limit, which is ₹2,000.

Additionally, the users will also be able to revoke the auto top-up mandate at any time, reads the NPCI circular.

What is UPI Lite?

It is a new payment solution that enables users of UPI to make small-value transactions (below ₹500) without entering the PIN. These transactions take place without using the remitter’s bank’s core banking systems, thus leading to uncluttered passbook for users.

On UPI Lite, user can simply open the app and make the payment without having to enter the PIN.

The latest guidelines entail the following points:

1. NPCI has directed that the issuer banks will support the functionality of auto top-up on UPI Lite wherein the banks should allow creation of UPI Lite mandate and allow debits whenever the request comes from the PSP/App.

2. NPCI has also directed that the UPI apps will support the necessary functionality and interface on their app in order for customers to use auto top-up on UPI Lite.

3. Additionally, members are supposed to ensure that the mandate created are executed successfully. All the necessary validation should be present at the time of mandate creation.

4. But the number of auto-replenishment transactions are to be restricted to five in a day for each UPI Lite account.

NPCI is projecting UPI Lite as a customer-friendly approach to enable low-value transactions without utilising a remitter bank’s core banking systems in real-time, while providing adequate risk mitigation.