With the month of October beginning today, several financial and non-financial changes are set to come into effect. These include changes ranging from the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) to railway ticket booking. These changes will directly impact the general public.
Let’s Learn More About These Changes…
NPCI to Discontinue Pull Transaction Facility: The National Payments Corporation of India will discontinue the person-to-person (P2P) ‘collect request’ or ‘pull transaction’ feature on UPI platforms like PhonePe, Google Pay, and Paytm. This means that you will no longer be able to request money from someone. This move is aimed at enhancing user security and curbing online fraud.
100% Investment in Equity-Linked Schemes: Non-government subscribers will now be able to invest up to 100% of their pension corpus in equity-linked schemes under the Multiple Scheme Framework (MSF). Previously, this limit was 75%. Additionally, the opening and maintenance fees for PRAN (Permanent Retirement Account Number) have also been revised. Government employees will be charged ₹18 for the e-PRAN kit and ₹40 for the physical PRAN card. The fees will vary for private and government sector NPS subscribers.
Only Aadhaar-verified users will be able to book reserved tickets: From October 1st, only Aadhaar-verified users will be able to book reserved tickets for the first 15 minutes after the online reservation window opens. This rule has been announced to prevent misuse and streamline booking.
Changes in online gaming rules: To promote transparency, changes will also be made to the rules related to online gaming from October 1st. This includes rules related to age limits and licensing requirements.
Lockers at PNB will become more expensive: Public sector Punjab National Bank (PNB) is going to increase the fees for its locker and some other services from October 1st. This will make locker keeping at the bank more expensive. Additionally, enrollment fees will also increase.
Speed Post will cost more: From October 1st, sending speed post through the postal department will cost more. This is because the department is going to increase the fee for this service. Additionally, Speed Post will be integrated with an OTP-based delivery system. The purpose of this is to deliver Speed Post only after the recipient’s verification.
RBI Launches New Check Clearance Facility: In a major step towards faster payments, the RBI will introduce a continuous check clearing facility from October 4th. According to several reports, this facility will be implemented in two phases. The first phase will run from October 4th to January 2nd, 2026. The second phase will begin on January 3rd, 2026.
Banks will remain closed for 21 days: Banks will be closed for 21 days in October, including festivals like Dussehra, Diwali, and Chhath Puja. However, these holidays will vary by state. Therefore, people are advised to plan their banking activities accordingly.
