UPI AutoPay lets a service take money from your bank account automatically: an OTT or music subscription, a mobile or DTH recharge, a mutual fund SIP, an insurance premium or a loan EMI. You approve it once, and the payments keep running. That convenience is also the catch. Free trials quietly turn into paid plans, and services you stopped using keep charging month after month.
This guide shows how to find every AutoPay mandate on your account, how to skip a single payment or cancel for good, and what the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) rules guarantee you.
The short version
- Open your UPI app and look for AutoPay or Mandates, usually in your profile or settings. Check every UPI app you have used.
- Cancel (revoke) any mandate you don't need; you confirm with your UPI PIN, and no further debits can happen through it.
- Also cancel the subscription with the service itself, so it doesn't try another payment method.
- You must get a notification at least 24 hours before every AutoPay debit, and setting up or cancelling a mandate is free.
1. How UPI AutoPay works
An AutoPay mandate is a standing permission you give a merchant to debit your bank account on a schedule. When you set it up, your UPI app shows the merchant's name, the amount (either a fixed amount or "up to" a maximum), how often it can debit (for example monthly) and how long the mandate lasts. You approve it with your UPI PIN.
After that, each payment runs on its own, without your PIN, up to these limits per debit:
| Type of payment | Automatic debit without your PIN, per payment |
|---|---|
| Most subscriptions and bills | Up to ₹15,000 |
| Insurance premiums, mutual fund investments, credit card bills | Up to ₹1,00,000 |
A debit above the limit needs you to authenticate it again. The same RBI rules also cover recurring payments set up on debit and credit cards, so a subscription you can't find in your UPI app may be running on a card instead.
2. Your rights under RBI's rules
RBI's Digital Payments – E-mandate Framework, 2026, issued on 21 April 2026, applies to recurring payments by UPI, cards and prepaid wallets. Under it:
- 24-hour advance notice. You must be notified at least 24 hours before each debit, with the merchant's name, the amount, the date and time of the debit, the mandate reference and the reason.
- You can opt out. You must be given a way to opt out of any particular debit, or of the mandate itself.
- You can change or withdraw it any time. You can modify the validity period or withdraw a mandate at any point.
- A notice after each debit, including details of how to complain.
- No charges. You cannot be charged for using the e-mandate facility.
- Protection against unauthorised debits. RBI's limits on customer liability for unauthorised electronic transactions also apply to these payments.
Changes, opt-outs and cancellations are confirmed with your UPI PIN or another authentication, so nobody else can change your mandates without it.
3. How to find all your AutoPay mandates
- In your UPI app. Look for AutoPay, Mandates or Manage payments, usually under your profile picture or in settings. It lists active, paused and completed mandates, with the merchant, amount and frequency.
- In every UPI app you have used. Under NPCI's circular "Enhancement of UPI Autopay" (OC-223, October 2025), UPI apps were reported to be required, from the end of 2025, to show your mandates even if they were set up through a different app. If your app doesn't show a mandate you know exists, check the app you used to set it up, including apps on an old phone.
- In your messages. Search your SMS, app notifications and email for the pre-debit notices, which name the merchant and the amount.
- In your bank statement. Look for the same amount leaving your account every month or year, especially small amounts that are easy to miss.
- NPCI's MyUPI portal. NPCI's MyUPI (UPI Help) portal handles questions about UPI transactions and mandates. You sign in with the mobile number linked to your bank account.
4. How to skip, pause or cancel
Skip one payment
When you get the advance notice for a debit you don't want, use the opt-out option offered with it or in your app. The mandate stays active for future payments.
Pause
Many apps let you pause a mandate for a period, for example while you are away. Payments resume automatically when the pause ends, so set a reminder.
Cancel for good
- Open the mandate in your UPI app's AutoPay section.
- Choose Cancel, Revoke or Delete (the wording varies).
- Confirm with your UPI PIN.
- Take a screenshot of the confirmation showing the date.
Cancel the subscription too. Revoking a mandate stops payments through it, but it doesn't always end your subscription with the service, which may then ask you to pay another way or keep your account active. Cancelling inside the service doesn't always revoke the mandate either. Do both, and check that the mandate shows as cancelled.
5. If money is debited after you cancel
A debit after you have revoked a mandate, or one you never authorised, should not happen. If it does:
- Note the UPI reference number of the debit and keep the screenshot of your cancellation.
- Raise a complaint in your UPI app and with your bank the same day. Banks are required to have a dispute process for these payments.
- If you think it's fraud, report it straight away on the national cybercrime helpline 1930 or at cybercrime.gov.in; the sooner you report, the better your protection.
- If your bank doesn't resolve it within 30 days, you can escalate to the RBI Ombudsman. Our guide on what to do when a UPI payment fails but money is debited explains how.
6. AutoPay scams to watch for
Never approve an AutoPay or payment request you didn't start yourself. Approving a mandate with your PIN gives permission for repeated debits, not just one. Since October 2025, NPCI has discontinued "collect requests" between individuals (circular OC-220), so a request asking you to approve a payment that claims to come from a person, rather than a business you are paying, is a red flag. Read the mandate screen carefully before entering your PIN: check the merchant's name, whether the amount is fixed or "up to" a maximum, and how long the mandate lasts.
Also watch for messages claiming your "subscription will be renewed" with a link to cancel. Cancel only from your UPI app or the service's official app or website, never from a link in an unexpected message.
7. Good habits
- Review your mandates every few months and cancel any you no longer use.
- Set a reminder when you start a free trial that needs AutoPay, for a day or two before it ends.
- Prefer fixed amounts and short validity. If you can choose, a mandate with a fixed amount and an end date limits what can be taken.
- Read the pre-debit notices. They are your 24-hour chance to opt out of a payment you don't want.
Frequently asked questions
Does cancelling UPI AutoPay cancel my subscription?
Not necessarily. It stops payments through that mandate, but you should also cancel the subscription with the service itself.
Is there a charge to set up or cancel AutoPay?
No. RBI's rules say customers cannot be charged for the e-mandate facility for recurring payments.
Can a merchant take more than the amount I approved?
A mandate only allows debits within the amount or maximum you approved, and debits above ₹15,000 (₹1 lakh for insurance, mutual funds and credit card bills) need you to authenticate again. If you see a debit you didn't approve, complain to your bank straight away.
I found a mandate I don't recognise. What should I do?
Cancel it in your UPI app, check your bank statement for past debits to that merchant, and raise a complaint with your bank about any debit you didn't authorise.
Can I move an AutoPay mandate to a different UPI app?
NPCI's October 2025 AutoPay circular provides for moving ("porting") mandates between UPI apps at your request, confirmed with your UPI PIN. Check your app's AutoPay section to see whether it offers this yet.
Information checked on 26 October 2026 against RBI's Digital Payments – E-mandate Framework, 2026 (21 April 2026), NPCI's published circular list (OC-223 "Enhancement of UPI Autopay" and OC-220 on discontinuing person-to-person collect requests; details of OC-223 as reported in financial news) and NPCI's MyUPI portal. App menus change often, so the steps describe what to look for rather than exact buttons.