Hyderabad, June 20: PhonePe has clarified that its recently introduced inactivity fee applies only to unused prepaid wallet balances and will not affect users’ linked bank accounts or UPI transactions.
The clarification came after many users expressed confusion over inactivity alerts sent by the digital payments platform. Several customers feared that money would be deducted from their bank accounts if they did not use the PhonePe app or UPI services regularly.
PhonePe said the inactivity fee is limited to the prepaid wallet feature and does not apply to UPI payments, bank accounts linked to the app, or general use of the PhonePe platform.
According to the company, the charge will be deducted only if a prepaid wallet contains money and remains unused for more than one year. In such cases, PhonePe may deduct up to Rs 100 plus GST over a period of three months as a wallet maintenance fee.
The company also clarified that if there is no money in the wallet, no fee will be charged. It added that the wallet balance will never go into negative.
PhonePe explained that UPI activity and wallet usage are tracked separately. This means a user may be scanning QR codes, paying bills or transferring money through UPI every day, but the wallet can still be marked inactive if it is not used directly for months.
To avoid deductions, the company said users will receive an alert 15 days before any inactivity fee is charged. Within that period, customers can reactivate the wallet either by completing OTP verification or by making a small wallet transaction.
The clarification is expected to ease concerns among users who had confused the PhonePe app, UPI service and PhonePe wallet as a single product. The company has now stressed that only the prepaid wallet balance is covered under the inactivity policy, while normal UPI and bank-linked transactions will continue without any such charge.
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