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Effective June 1, 2026, new regulations have been implemented to make UPI payments even more secure than before. Large-value transactions now incorporate features such as biometric authentication and name verification before payment. However, relying solely on these new regulations is not sufficient. If you wish to safeguard yourself against UPI fraud and online scams, you should immediately enable certain essential security settings within your phone and banking applications. Even a minor oversight could result in significant financial loss. Here, we outline five specific settings that can help protect you from digital fraud.

**New Security Features for UPI Payments**
Since June 2026, the government has implemented several key changes to bolster UPI security. For high-value online transactions, a UPI PIN alone will no longer suffice; instead, biometric authentication—such as fingerprint or Face ID recognition—will also be required. The objective is to ensure that even if an unauthorized individual gains access to a user's UPI PIN, they remain unable to initiate a payment without the account holder's explicit permission. Furthermore, when making a payment to a specific phone number, the recipient's name will now be displayed. This feature helps mitigate the risk of accidentally transferring funds to the wrong account or falling victim to fraud involving fake identities. All these changes are being implemented at the system level. Let us now explore the five settings you should always keep enabled.

**1. Enable Biometric Locks on Your Phone and UPI Apps
If your smartphone supports fingerprint or facial recognition unlock features, ensure that these remain active at all times. Additionally, enable biometric authentication within your banking and payment applications—such as Google Pay, PhonePe, or Paytm. This ensures that even if someone physically gains access to your phone, they will be unable to open your UPI applications. Under the new UPI security regulations, biometric security has become more critical than ever before.

**2. Store Banking and Payment Apps in a Hidden Folder
Most smartphones offer the option to hide specific applications or place them within a designated "hidden folder." This folder can be secured with a separate password or PIN. By storing your banking and UPI applications in this location, you make it significantly more difficult for any unauthorized individual to locate them. This serves as a simple yet effective layer of additional security.

3. Always Keep Banking Notifications Enabled
Many people disable notifications, which prevents them from receiving timely alerts regarding suspicious transactions. Always keep notifications for your bank and UPI apps enabled; you may even consider setting a distinct ringtone specifically for them. This ensures that you receive an immediate alert the moment funds are debited from your account, allowing for prompt action in the event of any fraudulent activity.

4. Set Daily Transaction Limits
Set a maximum daily limit for outgoing payments within your banking or UPI app. For instance, if your daily expenses typically amount to around ₹10,000, do not set a limit exceeding that amount. This ensures that, even if your account or phone were to fall into the wrong hands for any reason, the potential financial loss would remain limited, and large sums of money could not be transferred all at once.

5. Disable International Payments and UPI Transactions
If you are not traveling abroad or do not typically make international payments, it is advisable to keep the international transaction feature disabled. Many banks and UPI apps offer this option. Keeping this feature turned off when it is not needed provides an extra layer of security for your account and mitigates the risk of potential fraud associated with international transactions.

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