The National Payments Corporation of India, or NPCI, is the organisation that runs India’s retail payment systems. It was set up in 2008 with guidance from the RBI and the Indian Banks’ Association, and it operates UPI, the Unified Payments Interface, which launched in 2016 and became the main way Indians make digital payments. NPCI also runs RuPay, IMPS and other payment networks. For IPO investors, UPI matters because it is the standard way to apply: you enter your UPI ID in your broker’s app, a mandate request is sent to your UPI app, and approving it blocks the amount in your bank account until allotment. This system replaced the earlier practice of paying by cheque or net banking, and it cut the time and friction of applying. NPCI sets the technical rules and limits for UPI, including the maximum amount that can be blocked for IPO applications, which SEBI and NPCI have raised over time. If your UPI mandate fails, the cause is usually a bank limit, an app issue or a wrong UPI ID, and your bank is the first contact.

Example: You apply for an IPO with your UPI ID. NPCI’s UPI system sends the mandate request to your app. After you approve it with your PIN, the amount is blocked until allotment.