The NPCI has announced the discontinuation of the UPI Collect Request (P2P request money) feature from October 1, 2025, to curb fraud. Find out the reason, what changes for users, and how it impacts digital payments in India.
UPI (Unified Payments Interface) is now the main way to make cashless payments in India thanks to the country’s digital payment revolution. But a big change is coming: starting on October 1, 2025, the UPI Collect Request Service (also known as the “request money” or P2P pull transaction feature) will no longer be available for person-to-person (P2P) transactions.
The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) made this decision to cut down on frauds and scams that happen when people ask for money. Let’s get into what this means, why it’s happening, and how it will affect UPI users in India.
What is a UPI Collect Request?
With the UPI Collect Request capability, one UPI user could send another UPI user a “request for money.” For example, if you lent a friend money, you could request it back, and if approved, it would be added to your account.
This function was useful, but fraudsters used it to send bogus requests that tricked customers into approving payments.
📢 Why is NPCI ending the service?
The NPCI circular (OC No. 220, FY 2025-26) makes it very explicit that no P2P collect requests can be started, sent, or processed after October 1, 2025.
Some of the main reasons for the shift are
- Stopping UPI frauds—Scammers used the feature to steal money by sending bogus requests.
- User safety: Many users unwittingly authorized requests, which led to more complaints.
- Previous steps didn’t work. Fraud continued even after NPCI limited collect requests to ₹2,000 per transaction and set a limit on the number of requests per day.
⚠️ What Will Be a Change After October 1, 2025?
- No more requests for personal collections:You won’t be able to send a “request money” message to friends or family.
- Merchant requests are still active: Businesses and online merchants can still use collect requests to get paid.
- You can still send and receive money by UPI ID, QR code, or mobile number. The only thing that is going away is the request capability.
- More people are using UPI Pay, Scan & Transfer: users will now send money directly instead of approving a request.
🏦 Impact on Users
- Individuals: People who used to say “request money” will now have to send reminders to payers by hand.
- Businesses and merchants: No change; merchant-initiated collect requests will still go on as usual.
- Security: Digital payments will be safer because a typical way for fraud to happen will be stopped.
💡 Other ways to make a Collect Request
Even though it has been discontinued, UPI still works perfectly with many options:
- Scanning UPI QR Codes
- Transfers of UPI IDs directly
- UPI payments based on a mobile number
- UPI apps from other companies, like PhonePe, Google Pay, Paytm, and others
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
Q1: When is the last day to use UPI Collect Request for P2P?
➡️ September 30, 2025. It will no longer be available after October 1.
Q2. Is it still possible for me to ask a merchant for money?
Yes. Requests for merchant collections are still open.
Q3. Will UPI itself be changed?
➡️ No. The “request money” P2P feature is the only one that is gone. Payments over UPI are still normal.
Q4. What made this feature seem dangerous?
➔ Scammers utilized it to send bogus requests and fool people into agreeing to payments.
Conclusion
The end of the UPI Collect Request (P2P request money) service on October 1, 2025, is a big step toward making India’s digital payments system safer.
Users may miss the ease of asking for money directly, but the trade-off makes transactions safer and lowers the danger of fraud. Digital payments in India are still as easy and reliable as ever, thanks to the many UPI payment methods that are still available.
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