Can One Person Have Multiple UPI IDs For The Same Account?

Ever since the introduction of digital payment modes into our lives, that’s all we’ve been using for our monetary transactions. Well, at least a vast majority of us use them. And UPI plays a major role in them. Today, let’s learn a little more in detail about UPI and check if you can have multiple UPI IDs.

UPI stands for Unified Payment Interface. It is a real-time instant payment system developed by the National Payments Corporation of India. UPI allows you to make inter-bank, person-to-person and person-to-merchant transfers in an instant, using a mobile phone.

Now, to make these monetary transactions, you need a unique ID, known as your UPI ID. Every UPI user is required to generate this ID using their bank account details. This can be generated in your own Bank’s mobile app or even on other payment apps. UPI ID makes it easier for users to instantly send and receive funds without sharing account details.

Also Read: RBI Governor Launches UPI-Linked RuPay Credit Card, UPI Lite

The short answer is, “Yes”. A person can have multiple UPI Ids for the same account. Let’s see how that is possible. For example, if you have an account with Kotak Bank, you can generate a UPI ID on the Kotak 811 app. And the UPI ID here will end with “@kotak”.

Meanwhile, if you go to create a UPI id for the same bank account on a different platform such as payment apps like Google Pay or PayTM, then your UPI ID will have a different ending. In the case of Google Pay, the most used UPI IDs are “@oksbi”, “@okhdfcbank”, “@okaxis” and “@okicici”.

So, even if you have an account in Kotak Bank, when you link it with your Google Pay account, your UPI ID might end in “@okhdfc”. Hence, it can be concluded that you can have multiple UPI IDs for the same account.

Now, if you’re wondering whether you can have multiple UPI IDs for the same mobile number, the answer is that you can! In fact, if your bank account and your other payment apps are both working on the same mobile number, then definitely you can have multiple UPI IDs on that number.

Even in a different scenario, where you have multiple bank accounts in different banks, you can still have different UPI IDs linked to your single mobile number. This is possible if the same mobile number was used while opening a bank account in all of the banks.

Moreover, if you have multiple accounts linked to a single number, you automatically have multiple UPI IDs linked to a single number. For example, if you have an SBI and a Kotak account linked to the same number, the UPI IDs from both banks will be linked to the same number.

Also Read: What A Free UPI Regime Means For The Economics Of Payments

There are different ways of creating multiple UPI IDs. Either you can individually create multiple UPI IDs in the various official apps of your respective banks, or you can create multiple UPI IDs in a single app like the Google Pay app.

Here, you can easily create multiple IDs in the same account as long as your mobile number is linked to all your bank accounts. If you’re still wondering how to create multiple UPI IDs, simply follow the steps mentioned below:

• Open the Google Pay app on your mobile phone.

• On the top right, tap on your photo.

• Tap on “Set up payment methods”.

Now you can either add a new Bank account or you can add another UPI ID to your existing bank account.

To Add A New Bank Account

• Click on “Add bank account”.

• Select your Bank’s name.

• It will be auto-detected and verified via your mobile number.

And voila! Your new UPI ID is created.

To Add Multiple UPI IDs In The Same Account

• Select the name of the bank in which you already have an account and want to now create an additional/alternate UPI ID.

• Click on “Manage UPI IDs.”

• Tap the “+" sign next to the UPI ID you want to create.

That’s it, your UPI ID will be created in an instant.

While making a payment, you can then select the UPI ID you want to use under the “Choose account to pay with” section.