Amazon Pay brings family-style UPI payments to India
Amazon Pay just made digital payments a whole lot easier for families. The company has launched ‘UPI Circle’, a first-of-its-kind feature that lets users securely share their UPI access with family and friends — all while keeping control over how much they spend and when.
Unveiled at the Global FinTech Festival 2025 in Mumbai, this new tool was launched in collaboration with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). The goal? To make digital payments more inclusive and collaborative, especially for households that rely on a single main account.
What exactly is UPI Circle?
Think of UPI Circle as a shared wallet — one main account that your family or close friends can use for daily transactions. The person who owns the account (the “primary user”) can create a trusted group or “circle” of members and decide how much each person can spend.
Each member gets their own UPI ID or QR code, but the money comes from the main account. You can even set rules — like automatic approvals for small transactions or manual ones for bigger spends.
So, if you’re a parent, you can allow your college kid to use ₹5,000 a month for essentials. Or if you’re helping an elderly relative, they can pay digitally without worrying about remembering PINs.
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How to set up your UPI Circle
Setting up a UPI Circle is pretty straightforward:
- Make sure you have the latest version of the BHIM UPI app (v3.8.1 or above).
- Go to the ‘UPI Circle’ section and tap on ‘Add Family or Friends.’
- Enter the person’s UPI ID and choose an access type — either “spend with limits” or “approve every payment.”
- Set the spending limit, the end date, and the bank account from which funds will be deducted.
- Confirm everything using your UPI PIN to authorize setup.
There’s also a 24-hour cooling period, during which the new member can only spend up to ₹5,000. After that, full access kicks in, and you can manage approvals from the “Approve to Pay” section.
Expanding UPI to smart devices
In a move that takes UPI beyond phones, Amazon Pay and NPCI are also bringing UPI payments to smart devices — including wearables and smartwatches.
The idea is simple: you’ll soon be able to tap and pay using biometrics, with real-time fraud protection and transaction alerts synced across devices.
It’s a glimpse into the future of cashless convenience, powered by Amazon’s tech and India’s UPI backbone.
Rewards and use cases
To make things even better, Amazon Pay is offering up to 5% cashback on select categories once users hit spending milestones through UPI Circle.
You can use it for:
- Family-to-family (P2P) transfers
- Merchant and online shopping payments
- Bill payments (coming soon)
From parents giving kids pocket money to small business owners assigning budgets to staff — UPI Circle covers it all.
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Why it matters
With UPI Circle, Amazon Pay isn’t just adding a new feature — it’s reimagining how families use money digitally. It makes payments more secure, convenient, and human, especially for people who aren’t tech-savvy but still want to be part of India’s growing digital economy.
By tying this to smart devices and biometric security, Amazon is helping make digital payments both inclusive and futuristic.
