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SEBI has proposed introduction of a unique UPI address for collection of money from investors through registered intermediaries. These include investment advisers, mutual fund AMCs, REITs, InvITs, AIFs including venture capital funds.
The regulator said that this measure will ensure payments are reaching only to SEBI registered intermediaries. The regulator aims to help investors identify, isolate and avoid unregistered entities, who will not have access to this unique UPI handle.
UPI handles
The new handle will have usernames which will be dependent on the segment of the securities market they are present in. For example, if a registered intermediary has the name abc, his handle will be abc.bkr for brokerage business and abc.mf for the mutual funds space.
These proposed handles will be easy to understand like abc.bkr@payrighthdfc or abc.mf@payrighthdfc.
The payment to these handles will be followed by a special symbol: 
to verify that the payments are being made to a verified and registered intermediary. The allocation and authentication of intermediaries will be done by syndicate banks through the OTP method. Once the registered intermediary has been allocated a UPI ID, the bank will stop its allocation within 1 month. While the discontinuation of old IDs will be done after 3 months of allocation, the investor education for the use of new UPI IDs by registered intermediaries, RTAs, investor associations etc. can be done after 45 days of allocation of the ID.
The regulator has also proposed that only one UPI ID will be allowed to be linked to the business account of an intermediary. However, the intermediary can have multiple business accounts with each account having its own unique UPI ID.
Daily transaction limit
The regulator has also proposed the daily limit for transactions from these handles up to Rs. 5 lakh per day for capital market intermediaries.
Impact on SIPs
The existing SIPs will continue in the existing way. However, any renewal or extension or new registration of SIPs must be done using the new UPI IDs.
Investor awareness
All investor-facing registered intermediaries will have to conduct investor awareness programs to inform investors about the presence of the unique UPI handle through SMS, e-mail communications, social media posts, audio visual communication, website etc.
The regulator has asked for comments from public on the following:
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Is the proposed UPI method adequate for the majority of the investor base?
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Is the name of the proposed UPI handle appropriate and does it resonate with the investors?
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Will creation of unique UPI address make investors more cautious and reduce the chances of investors approaching unregistered entities?
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Is any additional information required to be captured in the proposed mechanism to make it more efficient and user friendly?
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Should the proposed mechanism be applicable to registered intermediaries other than the ones mentioned?
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Should the banks other than the self-certified syndicate banks be allowed to issue UPI IDs to registered intermediaries?
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Any other suggestion for smoother implementation for the process?
You can comment on the consultation paper here before February 21, 2025.
