In India, UPI is generally presented as free to the person paying, but the clearest official no-fee statement specifically covers transactions funded through a prepaid payment instrument (PPI). If you see a charge, check the transaction details and the current terms of your bank, app or funding provider. A purchase refund is also different from a failed-payment reversal: the first follows the merchant’s refund process, while the second has specific Reserve Bank of India (RBI) timelines in covered cases.
Do UPI payments have fees?
NPCI says, “There are no charges to be paid by the customer/ PPI holder for UPI transactions” when the transaction uses PPI funds. This is an explicit statement about that funding case, not a guarantee that every funding source or provider arrangement has identical terms. The official FAQ does not establish a comprehensive fee schedule for all banks, apps, funding sources or special transaction types. Read NPCI’s UPI FAQ.
If a UPI transaction appears to have a fee, review the transaction details and check the current terms with the bank, app or provider connected to the funding source. A charge to the payer is not the same as pricing elsewhere in the payment chain; the available official information here does not establish a current merchant-side fee schedule.
Is a purchase refund the same as a failed-payment reversal?
No. If you return goods or reject a service, NPCI says the merchant asks its bank to refund the charged amount through the merchant’s defined process. Contact the merchant and keep the transaction reference. NPCI’s FAQ does not give a universal number of days for this kind of refund, so the failed-payment deadlines below should not be applied to an ordinary return.
A failed-payment reversal applies when a payment does not complete as intended after your account has been debited. RBI’s timelines depend on whether the payment was a transfer or a merchant payment and on what failed.
What are the reversal deadlines for failed UPI payments?
RBI’s September 20, 2019 framework sets deadlines for the following two UPI failure cases. “T” means the date of the transaction; the specified period runs from that date.
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| What happened | Auto-reversal deadline | Compensation if delayed beyond the deadline |
|---|---|---|
| Your account was debited for a funds transfer, but the beneficiary was not credited | By T+1 day | ₹100 per day beyond the deadline |
| Your account was debited for a merchant payment, but confirmation did not reach the merchant location | Within T+5 days | ₹100 per day beyond the deadline |
These deadlines and compensation amounts come from the RBI’s 2019 circular on turnaround times and customer compensation for failed transactions. They apply to the specified failure scenarios, not to every payment marked pending or to a purchase that was completed and later returned.
What should you do if a UPI payment is pending or failed?
Check the transaction status first
A pending status does not by itself establish that a purchase refund is due. Check the transaction in your UPI app and note its reference and status. NPCI’s FAQ advises contacting your bank’s customer support if a failed debit has not been refunded within one hour. That is practical support advice; it does not replace the RBI deadlines for the specific failure cases above.
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- In transaction history, select the relevant transaction, choose UPI HELP, select the reason for the complaint and confirm. NPCI describes this in its UPI HELP guidance.
- If the issue remains unresolved, contact your bank’s customer support with the transaction reference and details of what happened.
- You can also use NPCI’s complaint portal. NPCI says it routes complaints to the relevant member for action; the member bank or institution is responsible for resolving them.
For a fraudulent or unidentified transaction, NPCI advises raising it with your bank.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Where does a refund go if you paid using a PPI?
For PPI-funded transactions, the RBI’s PPI directions say refunds for failed, returned, rejected or cancelled transactions are applied back to the PPI when the original payment was made from it. A refund funded through another payment instrument is not credited to the PPI. See the RBI’s Master Directions on Prepaid Payment Instruments.
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