Fri Jan 31 10:47:41 UTC 2025: ## UPI to Ban Special Characters in Transaction IDs Starting February 2025

**New Delhi, [Date of Publication]** – The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) announced new guidelines for Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions, effective February 1, 2025. These guidelines prohibit the use of special characters—such as #, @, $, and *—in UPI transaction IDs. Any transaction attempting to use such characters will be automatically declined by the system.

This move, detailed in a recent circular, aims to ensure compliance with UPI technical specifications. The NPCI urges all users to update their UPI IDs to remove any special characters before the February 2025 deadline. Participating entities are responsible for disseminating this information and ensuring compliance.

The decision highlights the dramatic growth of UPI in India’s digital payment landscape. According to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), UPI’s share of digital payments has skyrocketed from 34 percent in 2019 to 83 percent in 2024, showcasing a remarkable 74 percent cumulative average growth rate (CAGR) over the past five years. This surge has come at the expense of other payment systems, whose combined share has dropped from 66 percent to 17 percent during the same period. The RBI report attributes UPI’s success to its ease of use and convenience. Transaction volume has exploded from 375 crore in 2018 to 17,221 crore in 2024, while the total value has increased from ₹5.86 lakh crore to ₹246.83 lakh crore.

Read More