Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Collect in Payments

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has announced that it will discontinue the peer-to-peer (P2P) collect request feature on UPI starting October 1, 2025. The decision comes amid rising cases of fraud and misuse linked to this feature.

What is Changing?

• Collect Request Feature:
  • Allowed a UPI user to send a payment request to another user (e.g., to split bills or remind someone to repay money).
  • The recipient could accept or decline the request.
• Problem: Fraudsters increasingly misused this feature by tricking unsuspecting users into approving bogus payment requests.

Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Collect

• P2P Collect is a feature in UPI (Unified Payments Interface) that allows a user to request money from another user, instead of sending it.
• Unlike a normal transfer (where the payer initiates), here the receiver initiates a “collect request” and the payer just needs to approve it.

Peer-to-Peer (P2P) in Payments

• Peer-to-Peer (P2P) payments are digital money transfers between two individuals without involving cash or physical instruments.
• Transactions happen using mobile apps, UPI IDs, QR codes, phone numbers, or bank accounts.

ET