SEBI’s UPI (@valid) & ‘SEBI Check’

Prelims – Current events of national and international importance | Economy.
Why in the News?

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is set to introduce a structured unified payment interface (UPI) address mechanism.

UPI (@valid) – It aims to enhance investor protection and combat unauthorised money collection in the securities market
It is expected to streamline the collection of funds by intermediaries from investors.
It is for registered intermediaries to tackle the rising number of unregistered entities in the stock market that are misleading investors.
Through this process, investors can identify legitimate Sebi-registered market intermediaries before making payments.
It will be exclusively allocated by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) only for payment collection by Sebi-registered intermediaries.
The regulator has made it mandatory for all intermediaries to obtain the new UPI IDs. For investors, the use of a structured UPI handle will remain optional.

NPCI is the umbrella organisation for operating retail payments and settlement systems in the country, that owns and operates the UPI platform.

Benefits - To address the growing issue of impersonation and to enhance investor confidence in the securities market.
It is designed to proactively curb fraudulent activities, enabling investors to easily identify legitimate Sebi-registered market intermediaries and make payments securely and efficiently.

SEBI CHECK - To provide an additional layer of security and help investors verify the authenticity of an entity before proceeding with any financial transaction.
This will allow investors to verify the authenticity of UPI IDs either by scanning a QR code or by entering the UPI ID manually.
The tool will also include a feature to confirm the bank details such as bank account number and Indian Financial System Code (IFSC) of an intermediary.
Both will be available for use by common investors with effect from October 1, 2025.

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