Updated 00:07 IST, January 31st 2025
Special Characters No Longer Allowed In UPI Transaction IDs | Here's Why
To standardise generating UPI transaction IDs, the NPCI has announced that starting February 1, such IDs will no longer be allowed to contain special characters

New Delhi: In an effort to standardise the process of generating Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transaction IDs, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has announced that starting February 1, transaction IDs will no longer be allowed to contain special characters. According to the information, the central system will automatically reject any transactions with special characters.
The NPCI has instructed all payment companies to use only alphanumeric characters for transaction IDs, citing the need to ensure compliance with UPI technical specifications. "Reference may be taken from our OC 193 dated March 28, 2024, wherein UPI ecosystem players were advised to use only alphanumeric characters for generating UPI transaction ID," the official NPCI release read.
The decision has come up at a time when UPI transactions are soaring to record levels. In December 2024, the number of UPI transactions hit 16.73 billion, an 8 percent increase from 15.48 billion in November. The total value of these transactions also reached Rs 23.25 lakh crore in December, compared to Rs 21.55 lakh crore in November.
The daily average transaction count grew to 539.68 million in December, a significant increase from 516.07 million in November. The NPCI has urged all payment service providers to ensure compliance with the new guidelines to avoid any disruptions to UPI transactions.
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Published 23:59 IST, January 30th 2025