UPI Payments Getting Stuck or Delayed? Relax, Government’s New Fraud Prevention Measure May Be Protecting You – See Details
If you’ve experienced a delay in your Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transaction on platforms like PhonePe, Google Pay, or Paytm recently, it may be due to a strategic move by government authorities. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has introduced the Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI), a tool designed to combat financial crimes and cyber fraud in India’s rapidly growing digital payment landscape. This measure aims to safeguard the extensive network of over 200 billion digital transactions conducted in the last year, a growth accompanied by a significant rise in cybercrime incidents.
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has introduced the Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI) to combat rising cyber fraud in digital payments. If your UPI transaction on PhonePe, Google Pay, or Paytm is delayed, it could be a deliberate fraud prevention measure rather than a technical issue. This delay is to provide enough time for financial institutions to verify the authenticity of the transaction. The system also alerts the user about the genuineness of the money recipient by flagging their status as high risk, medium risk and good to go.
What is the Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI)?
The FRI is a risk-based metric that flags mobile numbers associated with Medium, High, or Very High risk of financial fraud. This classification is based on inputs from:
- I4C’s National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP)
- DoT’s Chakshu platform
- Intelligence shared by banks & financial institutions
Gaurav Gupta, Senior Product Manager at Signzy, stated:
“FRI is a vital preemptive strike against fraud. With over 200 billion digital transactions last year, cybercrime has surged. This system helps financial institutions block scams before customers lose money.”
How Does FRI Help Prevent Fraud?
The Digital Intelligence Unit (DIU) shares the Mobile Number Revocation List (MNRL) with stakeholders, containing numbers disconnected due to:
- Cybercrime involvement
- Failed re-verification
- Exceeding usage limits
Since fraudulent numbers are often active for only a few days, real-time detection is crucial.
How PhonePe is Using FRI to Protect Users
PhonePe, an early adopter of FRI, has:
- Blocked transactions linked to Very High FRI numbers
- Displayed on-screen warnings via PhonePe Protect
- Introduced proactive alerts for Medium FRI numbers
Data shows high predictability in flagging fraud-linked numbers, reducing scams.
Collaboration with UPI Platforms & Banks
Leading UPI apps (PhonePe, Paytm, Google Pay), handling 90% of UPI transactions, are integrating FRI alerts:
- Some platforms now delay transactions and require user confirmation for flagged numbers
- Banks are actively using FRI to reduce cyber fraud risks
Since UPI is India’s dominant payment method, this system could save millions from cybercrime.
