UPI Autopay
UPI Autopay is a feature on the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) that enables users to set up recurring mandates for automatic periodic payments — such as mutual fund SIPs, insurance premiums, OTT subscriptions, and EMIs — directly from their bank account via UPI-linked apps.
UPI Autopay, officially known as UPI e-Mandate or UPI Recurring Payments, was launched by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) in 2020. It extended UPI beyond one-time payments to cover recurring transactions, addressing a significant gap in the digital payments ecosystem. Prior to UPI Autopay, recurring mandates were predominantly handled through the National Automated Clearing House (NACH) system, which required physical or net banking-based registration and had longer settlement timelines.
The mandate registration process for UPI Autopay involves the user approving a mandate request from a merchant or service provider via their UPI app (Google Pay, PhonePe, Paytm, BHIM, or bank apps). The user authenticates the mandate with UPI PIN for amounts above Rs 15,000; for mandates below this threshold, pre-debit notification (sent 24 hours before debit) and execution happen automatically without additional authentication. This friction-reduced design enables seamless recurring payment experiences.
One of the most impactful use cases of UPI Autopay is mutual fund Systematic Investment Plans (SIPs). Historically, SIP mandates required NACH-based bank authorisations that took days to process. With UPI Autopay, SIP registration is near-instant and entirely digital, significantly reducing SIP registration drop-off rates and expanding the reach of SIP investing to first-time mutual fund investors. AMCs, distributors, and fintech platforms have integrated UPI Autopay mandates into their onboarding flows.
Beyond mutual funds, UPI Autopay is used for insurance premium collection, utility bill payments, loan EMI collection, subscription services (Netflix, Spotify, Amazon Prime), and even GST or tax payments by businesses. NPCI has set the upper limit for UPI Autopay mandates at Rs 1 lakh per transaction (with relaxations for specific categories like insurance and mutual funds).
For fintech companies and financial service providers, UPI Autopay has reduced collection costs compared to NACH, improved mandate success rates, and enabled more real-time collection infrastructure. The deep integration of UPI Autopay into the SIP ecosystem is a key driver of India's record mutual fund SIP inflows.