Sent Money to Wrong UPI ID, What to do to recover money?

One of my friends called me in a tensed voice that he has transferred 15000 rupees to a wrong UPI Id(phone number) by mistake. He anxiously wanted to know what he can do to recover his money as the owner of the phone number is not responding despite repeated calls to him. I am listing below the steps he can take to recover the money after which he seemed to relax a bit.

The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is a digital and real-time payment system developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and regulated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). UPI in simple words is a real-time payment system in India that enables seamless money transfers from one bank account to another instantly and free of charge through a mobile device. UPI streamlines the process of transferring funds between individuals and businesses, enabling individuals to make online purchases, pay utility bills, and shop at brick-and-mortar stores through QR codes, VPAs, or UPI registered mobile numbers. UPI can be used to send and receive money.

Total transactions processed by UPI in 2023 stood at 182 lakh crore rupees. Sending money through Unified Payment Interface(UPI) is convenient, easy to use, eliminates the need to carry cash, change related problems and hassles associated with cheques but mistakes can happen, resulting in funds being transferred to the wrong recipient.

Reasons resulting in funds being transferred to the wrong recipient :-

• You have sent money to a saved contact’s old number, which has been assigned by service provider to another person due to non usage or recharge or other reasons.
• You have entered the phone number wrong by mistake.
• You have selected similar sounding wrong contact from addressbook or recent transfers.
• Entering wrong Virtual Payment Address(VPA) due to spelling mistake or incorrect VPA.
• Sending money to a phone number linked to bank account which has become dormant or closed.

Precautions one needs to take before doing UPI transfer :-

• Never take quick decisions or rush into before sending big amounts.
• Always check with the target person on the name displayed against the mobile number before transferring money.
• Always check the amount you have entered and confirm with the target party.
• When you scan the QR code, always check the name displayed and amount before transferring money.
• Always check the mobile number and VBA entered with the target party   before transferring money.
• If it involves large amount and new payee, then first do a test transfer for small amount.

Steps to take after sending money to wrong UPI Id :-

• Try to speak to the person whom you have transferred money by mistake to transfer back, most will return.
• Report the issue of the wrong transaction to the customer care support team of of the UPI app that you are using.
• Contact your bank directly and raise a wrong credit chargeback with the Unique Transaction Reference (UTR) number of the payment. If the target account is in same bank, then bank will contact the account owner and if he agrees, transfers back the amount to your account. If the account belongs to a different bank, then you bank can act as a facilitator and apply lien or debit freeze on that amount in the other bank account. With the approval of the account owner amount is transferred back to your account.
• In case the bank failed to respond to your request or does not take any action, it is incumbent upon you to approach the bank’s ombudsman for resolution or making bank act on your request.
• If the receiver fails to respond to your request or the bank is unable to retrieve the amount, you can file a complaint on the NPCI portal (https://www.npci.org.in/what-we-do/upi/dispute-redressal-mechanism).