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NPCI Mandates UPI Apps to Mask Phone Numbers and Promote Username IDs

Published July 30, 2026 at 10:33 AM UTC

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The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has mandated that all Unified Payments Interface (UPI) applications and partner banks mask customer phone numbers by September 4, 2026. This directive aims to enhance user privacy by reducing the exposure of personal information during transactions. Under the new guidelines, only the last four digits of a user's mobile number will be visible to recipients, while the full number will remain concealed. Additionally, UPI apps are required to encourage users to create non-mobile number-based UPI IDs, allowing them to set such IDs as their default. This shift aligns with India's Digital Personal Data Protection laws and is expected to bolster data security across the UPI ecosystem.