Roles and Responsibilities of NPCI, PSP and TPAP in UPI

Roles & Responsibilities of NPCI

  1. NPCI owns and operates the Unified Payments Interface (UPI).
  2. NPCI prescribes rules, regulations, guidelines, and the respective roles, responsibilities and liabilities of the  PSPs and TPAP, with respect to UPI. This also includes transaction processing and settlement, dispute management and clearing cut-offs for settlement.
  3. NPCI approves the participation of Customer Banks, PSP, Third Party Application Providers (TPAP) and Prepaid Payment Instrument issuers (PPIs) in UPI.
  4. NPCI provides a safe, secure and efficient UPI system and network.
  5. NPCI provides online transaction routing, processing and settlement services to members participating in UPI.
  6. NPCI can, either directly or through a third party, conduct audit on UPI participants and call for data, information and records, in relation to their participation in UPI.
  7. NPCI provides the PSP access to the system where they can download reports, raise chargebacks, update the status of UPI Payment Transactions, etc.

Roles & responsibilities of PSP

  1. PSP is banking company that is a member of UPI and connects to the UPI platform for providing UPI payment facility to the PSP and TPAP which in turn enables the Users and merchants to complete payment transactions over UPI.
  2. PSP either through its own app or TPAP’s app, on-boards and registers the User on UPI and links their Funding Accounts to their respective UPI ID.
  3. PSP is responsible for authentication of the User at the time of registration of such customer, either through its own app or TPAP’s app.
  4. PSP engages and on-boards the TPAPs to make the TPAP’s UPI app available to the User.
  5. PSP has to ensure that TPAP and its systems are adequately secured to function on UPI.
  6. PSP is responsible to ensure that UPI compliant application and systems of TPAP are audited to safeguard security and integrity of the data and information of the User including UPI Transaction Data as well as UPI app security.
  7. PSP has to store all the payments data including UPI Transaction Data collected for the purpose of facilitating UPI transactions, only in India.
  8. PSP is responsible to give all UPI customers an option to choose any bank account from the list of Customer’s Banks available on UPI platform for linking with the customer’s UPI ID.
  9. PSP is responsible to put in place a grievance redressal mechanism for resolving complaints and disputes raised by the User.

Roles & responsibilities of TPAP

  1. TPAP is a service provider to the PSP and participates in UPI through PSP.
  2. TPAP is responsible to comply with all the requirements prescribed by PSP and NPCI in relation to TPAP’s participation in UPI.
  3. TPAP is responsible to ensure that its systems are adequately secured to function on the UPI platform.
  4. TPAP is responsible to comply with all the applicable laws, rules, regulations and guidelines etc. prescribed by any statutory or regulatory authority in relation to UPI and TPAP’s participation on the UPI platform including all circulars and guidelines issued by NPCI in this regard.
  5. TPAP has to store all the payments data including UPI Transaction Data collected by TPAP for the purpose of facilitating UPI transactions, only in India.
  6. TPAP is responsible to facilitate RBI, NPCI and other agencies nominated by RBI/ NPCI, to access the data, information, systems of TPAP and carry out audits of TPAP, as and when required by RBI and NPCI.
  7. TPAP shall facilitate the User with an option of to raise grievance through the TPAP’s UPI compliant app, e-mail, messaging platform, IVR etc. for redressal of customer grievances.

Dispute Redressal Mechanism

  1. Every User can raise a complaint with respect to a UPI transaction, on the PSP app / TPAP app.
  2. User can select the relevant transaction and raise a complaint in relation thereto.
  3. A complaint shall be first raised with the relevant TPAP in respect to all UPI related grievances / complaints of the User. In case the complaint / grievance remains unresolved, the next level for escalation will be the PSP, followed by the Customer’s bank and NPCI, in the same order. After exercising these options, the User can approach the Banking Ombudsman and / or the Ombudsman for Digital Complaints, as the case may be.
  4. The complaint can be raised for both the types of transactions i.e. fund transfer and merchant transactions.
  5. The User shall be kept communicated by the PSP / TPAP by means of updating the status of such User’s complaint on the relevant app itself.