Virtual Payment Address (VPA)—What is VPA in UPI?

Unified Payment Interface (UPI), the latest payment technique, is the trending payment mode among individuals for money transfer, bill payments, and merchant payments. The advantages of UPI payments are that you don’t have to pay additional transaction charges and that the receiver will not know your bank account details as they can only view your virtual payment address (VPA).

What is VPA?

A Virtual Payment Address (VPA) is a unique identifier that helps UPI to track a person’s account. It acts as an ID independent of your bank account number and other details. VPA can be used to make and request payments through a UPI-enabled app. You need not fill in your bank account details repeatedly for making multiple payments.

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A typical VPA looks something like abc@bankname. Generally, a primary default VPA will be set by the UPI app you are working on. The ‘abc’ part of the above example can be anything, such as your name, your registered mobile number, or things like that. The ‘bankname’ in the example can be the name of the bank your account is held with, or the name of the bank the app is associated with, or just the word ‘upi’.

For example, ‘geooorge@hdfcbank’, ‘anjeliene25@upi’, and ‘123456789@ybl’, can be a few examples of a VPA. 

On the other hand, you can check for the availability of a VPA that you would prefer and create one as you desire.

Creating a VPA of Your Choice

Step 1: Open the UPI app you have installed on your mobile device. Here, the BHIM app is used for demonstration purpose.

Step 2: Click on the ‘Profile’ tab on the home screen.

Step 3: If you have already set a VPA, the primary VPA will be shown. Click on the arrow that leads to the right.

Step 4: Click on the ‘+’ mark on the screen to create a VPA of your choice.

Step 5: You will be given an option to choose the first part of the VPA, i.e. the segment that appears before the ‘@’ symbol. A list of recommendations also appear. You can choose one from the list or type your desired VPA and check for its availability.

Step 6: Click on ‘Submit’ to confirm the VPA. That’s all!

How do transactions happen with VPA?

Once you have installed a UPI-enabled app, you are required to choose a UPI ID for all your further transactions. A VPA can be anything ranging from your name, the first half of your email address, or even your mobile number.

This is to make sure that you do not forget it when required. You can log in to a UPI-enabled app using VPA. Linking VPA to a bank account is an essential step before you initiate any transaction via UPI. Also, make sure that the mobile number you have linked to the bank account is the same as the one you have registered you are receiving a notification.

Upon entering the VPA and the amount to be sent/received, you must enter the valid UPI PIN that was created while registering with UPI. This is a validation required to confirm that the right person is making the transaction.

Advantages of using VPA

• Make payments from any account registered with your mobile number that has a sufficient balance to complete the transaction.
• Using a single user name/virtual address makes it convenient to track all your transactions in one place.
• Choose the option ‘Pay with VPA’ to transfer funds to an account of any bank. It is as easy as entering the recipient’s VPA, the amount to be paid, and remarks if any.
• Receive money when you request using the VPA. It is as easy as entering the target VPA, the amount, and remarks if any. When the other party accepts the request and authorises the transaction, the sum will be instantly credited to your account.
• Track the status of your past transactions using VPA.

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