A streaming subscription, a monthly SIP, an insurance premium, a FASTag that tops itself up: all of these can be paid from your bank account without you opening an app each time. The thing that makes it possible in UPI is a mandate, a standing permission you give once, in your own UPI app, that lets one merchant debit you on agreed terms. NPCI calls the service UPI AutoPay.
This guide explains how it works from start to finish: what you agree to, what you're told before money moves, when your UPI PIN is still needed, and what you can change later. If you already have a mandate and want to stop it, our step-by-step guide to cancelling UPI AutoPay is the faster read.
What UPI AutoPay is
NPCI's consolidated UPI circular defines UPI AutoPay as a mandate registered by a user on UPI to allow automated debits for pre-agreed recurring payments. It lists the kinds of payments it's meant for: subscriptions, bill payments, insurance, financial services, loan repayments and automatic top-ups of NETC FASTag and the RuPay National Common Mobility Card, among others.
Three parties matter. You, the payer, approve the mandate in your UPI app, and your bank (the remitter bank) debits your account. The merchant collects through its own bank or payment provider, which UPI calls the payee PSP. Every mandate gets a Unique Mandate Number, or UMN, which appears in the notices you receive and is the reference to quote if anything goes wrong.
How a mandate is set up
Registration happens once. It looks like a normal UPI payment, with a few more details on the screen.
- 1Choose AutoPayOn the merchant's site or app, at checkout or in billing settings
- 2Open your UPI appThe merchant hands over by intent (on the same phone) or by QR code
- 3Review the mandateMerchant, amount or maximum, frequency, validity and any first debit
- 4Approve with your PINRegistration always needs your UPI PIN
- 5Mandate is liveYou and your bank are notified, with the UMN
NPCI requires UPI apps and merchants' payment providers to support both the intent flow, where a merchant app on your phone opens your UPI app directly, and the QR flow, where you scan a code. Whichever you use, if a first payment is being collected at the same time, it must be shown separately from the recurring amount, so you can see exactly what leaves your account today.
Every mandate must have an end date, and NPCI caps validity at 30 years. The merchant has to let you edit the validity period or end date while you register. A short validity is a sensible default for a trial or a plan you're unsure about.
Fixed or variable amount
A mandate is either for a fixed amount or for a variable amount up to a maximum. The difference matters more than it seems.
| Compared on | Fixed amount | Variable amount |
|---|---|---|
| What you approve | One exact amount per debit | A maximum per debit; each debit can be anything up to it |
| Typical use | Subscriptions, SIPs, insurance premiums | Utility bills, postpaid plans, usage-based services |
| What to check | That the amount matches the plan you chose | That the maximum is realistic, not many times your normal bill |
For variable mandates, NPCI's rules require your bank to let you set the maximum value of any single recurring debit. If a merchant asks for a ceiling far above what you expect to pay, that's worth questioning before you approve, because it's the most a single debit can take.
Before every debit: the 24-hour notice
You should never be surprised by an AutoPay debit. At least 24 hours before each one, your bank and UPI app must send you a pre-debit notification that, at a minimum, names the merchant and gives the amount, the date and time of the debit, the UMN and the reason for the debit. Your bank must let you choose how you receive it, such as SMS or email.
- At least 24 hours beforePre-debit notice: merchant, amount, date and time, UMN and reason
- Between notice and debitYou can pause the mandate to skip this debit, or revoke it entirely
- On the debit dateYour bank debits your account, with or without your PIN depending on the amount
- After the debitPost-debit notice: merchant, amount, date and time, UMN, reason and how to complain
When your UPI PIN is still needed
The point of a mandate is that you don't approve every payment. But the rules still ask for your PIN (the additional factor of authentication) at the moments that matter:
| Moment | PIN needed? | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Registering the mandate | Yes, always | No mandate can be created without it |
| The first debit | Yes | If it runs within 5 minutes of registration, one PIN entry can cover both, within the limit below |
| Later debits up to ₹15,000 | No | Debited on the strength of the mandate |
| Later debits up to ₹1 lakh for insurance premiums, mutual fund subscriptions and credit card bills | No | RBI sets the higher limit for these categories |
| Any debit above those limits | Yes | You approve it like a normal payment |
One detail surprises people: NPCI's rules say AutoPay debits aren't subject to other limits or controls you've set in your app. Your control over a mandate is the mandate itself (its amount, validity, pause and revoke), not your app's general spending settings. For how these caps sit alongside UPI's other limits, see our guide to UPI transaction limits.
The controls you keep
A mandate isn't a blank cheque. NPCI's circular gives you these rights, and puts duties on your bank, your UPI app and the merchant to make them work:
- Change the validity period at any time, through your bank or UPI app. You must be told about this option when you register.
- Change the amount, through the merchant, which must offer a way to do it.
- Pause the mandate to skip a particular debit. Merchants collecting through AutoPay must support pause.
- Revoke the mandate entirely, from your UPI app or from the merchant's website or app. A revoke request made on the merchant's side must actually be sent through to UPI AutoPay, not just deleted in the merchant's own records, and it doesn't need your PIN.
- See every active mandate in one place. UPI apps must show your mandates under their bank account settings or a dedicated UPI AutoPay section.
The practical steps for each control, and what to do if money is taken after you cancel, are in our UPI AutoPay cancellation guide.
Start, pause, modify or cancel: a quick reference
Where each action happens, and what NPCI's rules say about it:
| You want to | Where | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Start a mandate | On the merchant's site or app, which opens your UPI app by intent or QR | Approve with your UPI PIN; check the first debit, amount and end date |
| Skip one debit (pause) | Your UPI app or bank, after the pre-debit notice | Merchants must support pause; not available for loan and EMI mandates in your app |
| Change the end date | Your bank or UPI app, at any time | You must be told about this option when you register |
| Change the amount | Through the merchant | Merchants must offer a way to modify the amount |
| Cancel (revoke) | Your UPI app, or the merchant's website or app | No PIN needed to revoke through the merchant; loan and EMI mandates go through the lender |
| Move it to another UPI app | View and port it in the new app | Up to three ports in any rolling 90 days |
The step-by-step for pausing and revoking, and what to do if you're charged after cancelling, is in our UPI AutoPay cancellation guide.
Moving a mandate to another UPI app
Mandates aren't locked to the app you created them in. NPCI requires apps to let you view mandates you've registered and, where supported, port them to another app. Porting must be your own choice: apps aren't allowed to push you into it with cashback, banners, nudges or alerts, and you can port a mandate at most three times in any rolling 90-day period.
UPI AutoPay compared with other recurring payments
AutoPay is one of several ways to collect recurring payments in India. Each suits different amounts and customers.
| Compared on | UPI AutoPay | Card e-mandate | NACH or eNACH |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paid from | A bank account, through a UPI app | A debit or credit card | A bank account |
| Set up by | Approving in a UPI app with your PIN | Authenticating with the card issuer | Paper form or online authentication with the bank |
| Debits without fresh approval | Up to ₹15,000, or ₹1 lakh for set categories | Same RBI limits | Up to the mandate's terms, typically higher amounts |
| Best suited to | Subscriptions, SIPs, bills, small and mid-size amounts | Subscriptions where customers prefer cards | Loan EMIs and large recurring amounts |
Our comparison of NACH and eNACH goes into bank mandates in more depth, including when each makes sense for a lender or a subscription business.
If you collect payments with AutoPay
For a subscription or billing business, AutoPay's rules translate into a short list of things your checkout and billing system must do. Your payment provider handles the UPI side, but these touch your product directly:
- Show the first payment separately from the recurring amount at sign-up, and offer a sensible validity period the customer can edit.
- Pick fixed or variable deliberately. For variable mandates, ask for a maximum your customers will recognise as reasonable.
- Send the pre-debit notice through your provider at least 24 hours before each debit, with an amount the customer expects.
- Support pause, and offer revoke inside your own website or app. Make sure a revoke request goes through your provider to UPI, not only into your database.
- Keep each customer's UMN with their subscription record, so support can trace any debit in seconds.
- Remove a mandate from your own records when a request fails because the mandate was revoked or no longer exists.
Merchants also get some portability. NPCI requires each merchant's payment provider to generate a standard Merchant Identifier Code, and a merchant can execute its AutoPay mandates through another payee PSP if it passes that code and the mandate details. Our subscription payments guide covers recurring billing across UPI, cards and NACH, and when a customer disputes a debit, the process in our guide to UPI disputes and chargebacks applies.
Frequently asked questions
Is UPI AutoPay safe?
It's designed so that nothing is debited without a mandate you approved with your UPI PIN, you're notified at least 24 hours before most debits and again afterwards, and you can pause or revoke a mandate at any time (except loan and EMI mandates). Check every pre-debit notice, and review your active mandates in your UPI app every few months.
Does UPI AutoPay need my UPI PIN every month?
No, not for debits up to ₹15,000, or up to ₹1 lakh for insurance premiums, mutual fund subscriptions and credit card bills. Registration and the first debit need your PIN, and so does any debit above those limits.
Can I skip one AutoPay payment without cancelling?
Yes. Pause the mandate after you receive the pre-debit notice and before the debit date, then resume it afterwards. Merchants that collect through AutoPay must support pause. Loan repayment and EMI mandates are the exception.
What is a UMN in UPI AutoPay?
The Unique Mandate Number identifies your mandate. It appears in pre-debit and post-debit notices, and it's the reference to quote to your bank, your UPI app or the merchant if a debit looks wrong.
How long can a UPI AutoPay mandate last?
Up to 30 years under NPCI's rules, but every mandate has an end date and the merchant must let you edit it when you register. You can also change the validity period later through your bank or UPI app.
Go deeper
Official sources
- NPCI — UPI Consolidated Circular, Version 1.0, NPCI/UPI/CC/01 (18 Sep 2026)Section 14, UPI AutoPay: definition and categories; intent and QR registration (14.1); first debit shown separately (14.2); notifications (14.3); AFA at registration (14.4); 30-year validity (14.5); fixed or variable amount (14.6); pre-debit notice content and 24-hour timing (14.7–14.9); FASTag, UPI Lite and NCMC exemption (14.10); AFA rules for first and later debits (14.11–14.13); user limits not applied (14.14); post-debit notice (14.15); modify, pause and revoke, loan and EMI exception (14.16–14.23); view and port mandates, merchant identifier code (14.24).
- RBI — Digital Payments – E-mandate Framework, 2026 (21 Apr 2026)₹15,000 per recurring transaction without AFA; ₹1 lakh for insurance premiums, mutual fund subscriptions and credit card bill payments; pre-debit notice and opt-out; withdrawal at any time.
- NPCI — UPI AutoPay product overview
Last reviewed . Examples, amounts and screens marked illustrative are not LILPE figures.
