NPCI lifts WhatsApp Pay's UPI user limit and extends the 30% UPI volume-cap deadline to 31 December 2026
Both decisions were announced by the National Payments Corporation of India on 31 December 2024.
Summary
The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) on 31 December 2024 removed the UPI user onboarding limit for WhatsApp Pay with immediate effect, allowing the third-party app provider to extend UPI services to its entire user base in India. WhatsApp Pay had earlier been capped at 100 million users under a graded roll-out that began after NPCI's approval in November 2020. The same day, NPCI extended by two years, to 31 December 2026, the deadline for existing third-party app providers to comply with the 30% cap on UPI transaction volume, which it had first proposed in November 2020.
Key facts
- Date
- 31 December 2024
- WhatsApp Pay
- UPI user onboarding limit removed with immediate effect
- Earlier cap
- 100 million users
- Volume cap
- 30% of UPI transaction volume per third-party app
- New deadline
- 31 December 2026 (extended by two years)
- Cap first proposed
- November 2020
Practice MCQs 3 questions
Till which date did NPCI on 31 December 2024 extend the deadline for UPI apps to comply with the 30% transaction-volume cap?
Show answer
Correct answer: C — 31 December 2026
Business Standard/TechCrunch: NPCI extended the compliance deadline by two years, to 31 December 2026.
Before NPCI removed the limit on 31 December 2024, WhatsApp Pay's UPI user onboarding was capped at:
Show answer
Correct answer: D — 100 million users
Business Standard/TechCrunch: the limit had been set at 100 million users; 20 million and 40 million were earlier stages, and 500 million is roughly WhatsApp's Indian user base.
Consider the following statements about NPCI's decisions of 31 December 2024: 1. The UPI user onboarding limit for WhatsApp Pay was removed with immediate effect. 2. The 30% UPI volume cap was first proposed by NPCI in November 2020. 3. The volume cap applies only to bank-owned UPI apps. Which of the statements given above are correct?
Show answer
Correct answer: A — 1 and 2 only
The Hindu/Business Standard: the WhatsApp Pay limit was removed with immediate effect and the 30% cap was first proposed in November 2020; the cap concerns third-party app providers such as PhonePe and Google Pay, so statement 3 is wrong.