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UPI AutoPay Explained: How Recurring Digital Payments Work

UPI AutoPay Explained: How Recurring Digital Payments Work
Written by Santosh Kumar

Becoming a common part of everyday’s digital life, people are now preferring to make recurring payments from their UPI apps. Paying for subscriptions, utility bills, insurance premiums, and other regular expenses, these are expenses that occur almost every month and need to be paid on a repeated basis. To make such transactions more convenient, UPI AutoPay has been designed to allow users to set up their regular payments.

According to the terms agreed by the user, this facility allows them to have transactions paid automatically instead of paying them manually every time. This is where a UPI app helps to make it easier to create, manage, and review these mandates through the platform.

What Is UPI AutoPay?

A feature introduced that allows users to pay for recurring payments through UPI is referred to as UPI AutoPay. The process starts when a user approves payments for a specific merchant or service, and when it is active, the payments will be processed as per the agreements.

The user generally has control over the mandate and can review relevant details before approving it. This makes recurring digital payments more structured and convenient.

How Does UPI AutoPay Work?

Here’s how the process works using your UPI app:

  • Start by opting for a service that supports UPI AutoPay.
  • Check for details like the payment purpose, frequency, and applicable amount that are being displayed.
  • Through the UPI process, approve the mandate.
  • As per the approval and the conditions, future payments will be processed accordingly.
  • Through the payment platform, you can track the mandate and relevant payments.

What Payments Can UPI AutoPay Be Used For?

While availability depends on the merchant, service provider and UPI app, here are the recurring expenses where AutoPay can be useful:

  • Subscriptions for OTT platforms
  • Payments of utility services
  • Premiums of insurance
  • Fees of memberships
  • Repayments of loans
  • Fees related to education

What Are the Benefits of UPI AutoPay?

Many individuals prefer UPI AutoPay. Here’s why:

  • Offers convenience by eliminating the need to track due dates, wait in queues, or initiate repeat payments for expenses. 
  • Helps avoid late payment penalties for missed EMIs, utility bills, and insurance premiums.
  • Users have complete control and flexibility to view, modify, pause, or revoke any of the active services directly from the UPI app at any time.
  • The platform even sends notifications before making a debit, making sure you are aware of the required balance.
  • As regulated by the NPCI, it offers enhanced security by requiring a UPI PIN during the initial setup under two-factor authentication.

What Should You Check Before Activating UPI AutoPay?

Before approving a mandate, make sure to check the following details:

  • The exact name of the business or the service that is requesting funds.
  • Maximum sum that can be deducted in one transaction. 
  • The frequency of money that will be deducted, like on a daily basis, weekly or monthly.
  • The starting date of the first payment and the total validity. 
  • Bank account linked to the UPI app for automated deductions.

How Can You Manage an Active Mandate?

Users can check their active mandates and payment information on the platform. This is how they have complete control over being able to pause, modify, or cancel eligible services. It is advised that users must review the payment instructions on a regular basis and cancel those that are no longer needed. It helps manage expenses when you track them completely.

Conclusion

UPI AutoPay can simplify recurring digital payments by reducing the need to initiate eligible transactions manually. A UPI app can make it easier to set up, review and manage payment mandates while helping users keep track of recurring expenses.

However, users should always review mandate details before authorising them and regularly check their active payment instructions. Platforms such as Bajaj Finserv’s Bajaj Pay can further support convenient everyday digital payments through UPI and UPI Lite, making routine transactions easier to manage.

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Santosh Kumar

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