These new UPI IDs will come with a visual security feature too: a thumbs-up symbol inside a green triangle that will show up on your UPI app when you’re making a payment. If that icon doesn’t appear, it’s a red flag — you might not be paying the right person
Starting October 1, 2025, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is introducing a new way to make payments in the securities market safer and more transparent. If you invest in stocks, mutual funds, or any market-linked product, this new move is for you. Sebi now requires all registered brokers, mutual funds, and other intermediaries to use a validated Unified Payments Interface (UPI) identification (ID) to collect payments from investors.
Verified UPI Handles
So, what’s changing? Until now, many intermediaries accepted payments through regular UPI handles, which meant there wasn’t a clear way for investors to know if the ID truly belonged to a registered entity. That created room for error, and in some cases, fraud. Sebi is putting an end to that with a new, standardised format for UPI IDs — for example, something like abc.brk@validhdfc or xyz.mf@validicici.
These new UPI IDs will come with a visual security feature too: a thumbs-up symbol inside a green triangle that will show up on your UPI app when you’re making a payment. If that icon doesn’t appear, it’s a red flag — you might not be paying the right person.
Be Sure Money Is Going To Intended Recipient
The best part? As an investor, you don’t have to do anything extra. You can still use any payment method you like — National Electronics Fund Transfer (NEFT), Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS), Immediate Payment Service (IMPS), or even a cheque. But if you choose UPI, you should use only the new verified ID that your broker or fund house provides. That way, you know your money is going exactly where it should.
Behind the scenes, it’s the intermediaries who need to do the heavy lifting. They’re required to create these new UPI IDs through their banks, make them public, and spread awareness among their clients. They’ll also generate a QR code with the same thumbs-up icon to make scanning and paying even easier.
To make things even safer, Sebi will also launch a new tool called “Sebi Check”. The tool will help you double-check your UPI ID. It will also help you scan a QR code before sending money and confirm the bank account details of the intermediary. In short, it will make payments more secure.