Setting up a new UPI ID is super easy these days. You just download a payment app, link your bank account, set a PIN, and you’re all set to make payments.
With so many apps out there offering better experiences or deals, people are switching apps faster than ever, which often leads to having multiple UPI IDs across different platforms. Many of these IDs you no longer use, remember, or don’t even realise are still active.
“Every UPI app creates a unique ID the moment a bank account is linked,” says Vasisht Ravichandran, COO, Pop UPI, adding that unlike a credit card, a UPI ID carries no fee, no monthly statement, and no reminder that it exists.
The problem is that these forgotten UPI IDs do not disappear when the app is deleted.
In many cases, they remain active in the background, still linked to bank accounts, mobile numbers, AutoPay mandates, and device permissions. According to cybersecurity experts, that can quietly become a financial and privacy risk.
Why deleting the app does not delete the UPI ID
One of the most important things users fail to grasp is the difference between uninstalling a UPI app and actually deactivating a UPI ID.
Deleting the app from your phone only removes the application interface.
“Internet guidance and banking advisories broadly confirm that uninstalling a UPI app alone does not completely deactivate a user’s UPI presence. In most cases, the UPI ID, linked bank accounts, mandates, AutoPay instructions, and certain device-level registrations can continue to remain active with the bank or Payment Service Provider (PSP) unless they are separately removed or disabled,” says Rohit Mahajan, Founder & CEO, plutos ONE.
