New Delhi, Oct. 23 -- Millions of Indians hit "send" on UPI every day, only to watch their account get debited while the money never reaches the other side. When that happens, you are not expected to wait indefinitely or pay again. Under Reserve Bank of India (RBI) rules, banks must reverse the amount within fixed deadlines: T+1 day for person-to-person transfers and T+5 days for merchant payments, or automatically credit you Rs.100 for every day the refund is delayed.

A UPI transaction travels through several systems at once. The sender's bank, the beneficiary's bank, NPCI's switching network, and the app itself. A glitch anywhere in this chain can leave the payment hanging even after your account is debited.

The Reserve Bank's framewo...