The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the umbrella body for operating retail payments and settlements in India, has also updated how and when banks and payment apps can check pending transactions.
Mumbai: In a move that will help millions of users, starting Monday, transactions through the Unified Payment Interface (UPI) have become significantly faster. Transactions such as money transfers, status checks, balance checks, and reversal of failed transactions will now be processed in just 15 seconds, down from the earlier wait time of up to 30 seconds. Until now, if a payment didn't go through, users had to wait up to 30 seconds or more to check whether the money was deducted or returned. This process will now take just 10 seconds, allowing quicker confirmation of whether a transaction has failed or succeeded. Similarly, verifying UPI addresses (such as mobile numbers or UPI IDs) will now take just 10 seconds, instead of 15 seconds earlier.
The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the umbrella body for operating retail payments and settlements in India, has also updated how and when banks and payment apps can check pending transactions. Earlier, apps had to wait 90 seconds before trying to verify whether a transaction was successful. Now, they can check as early as 45 to 60 seconds after a transaction starts, enabling quicker responses in case of technical issues. Also, if a transaction doesn’t reach the UPI system—for example, due to network failure or timeout—the system will now automatically mark it as failed. To avoid system overload, NPCI has allowed each payment provider or bank to check the status of a transaction up to three times, ideally within two hours of the attempt.
According to a recent NPCI circular, the goal is to reduce the response time for various UPI services, thereby improving the overall user experience.
In May, the UPI platform processed 1,868 crore transactions, a 33% jump from a year ago. The total value exchanged stood at ₹25.14 lakh crore, up 23%.
In another circular issued on May 21, 2025, NPCI proposed further changes that will come into effect in August. Users will be able to check their bank balance up to 50 times per day through their UPI app, and customers can view up to 25 linked accounts per day. For automatic payments, only one attempt and three retries will be allowed for each mandate. These retries will occur only during non-peak hours to avoid adding pressure during busy times.
Peak UPI hours have been defined as 10:00 am to 1:00 pm and 5:00 pm to 9:30 pm. NPCI has directed all banks and partners to follow these guidelines and complete the necessary system updates by July 31, 2025.
Dilip Modi, founder and CEO of Spice Money, said, “We see this as a crucial step in accelerating the adoption of digital payments, particularly in rural and semi-urban India, where accessibility and speed are key to driving complete financial inclusion.”
