Amazon Pay launches ‘UPI Circle’; how to use UPI Circle for family payments on smart devices

Amazon Pay on Wednesday announced the launch of ‘UPI Circle’, a new feature that allows users to securely share their UPI access with family and friends for making payments, without the need to open multiple bank accounts. The move aims to make digital payments more inclusive and collaborative, particularly for households and dependents.

The feature was unveiled at the Global FinTech Festival 2025 in Mumbai, where Amazon Pay also revealed a partnership with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to bring UPI functionality to smart devices like wearables and smartwatches.

What is UPI Circle?

UPI Circle enables a primary account holder to create a trusted group — or “circle” — of family members and friends who can make UPI payments using the main account. The feature comes with custom spending limits, PIN-less transactions, and biometric verification, ensuring that control remains with the main user.

Each added member gets their own UPI ID or QR code linked to the primary user’s account. Transactions can be authorized automatically within limits or require approval for every payment. The primary user can monitor all activity, set spending caps, or revoke access anytime.

This means, for example, a parent can authorise their college-going child to use a set monthly amount, or an elderly family member can make digital payments safely without handling UPI PINs.

How to use UPI Circle

To set up a UPI Circle, users need the BHIM UPI app version 3.8.1 or above.

Go to ‘UPI Circle’ in the app and tap Add Family or Friends.

Enter the contact’s UPI ID and select an access type — ‘spend with limits’ or ‘approve every payment’.

Define the spending limit, end date, and bank account for deductions.

Verify using your UPI PIN to authorise the setup.

Once added, a 24-hour cooling period applies, during which the new member can transact up to ₹5,000. Full access activates after 30 minutes, and all approval requests are visible under the “Approve to Pay” section of the app.

Expanding UPI to smart devices

In collaboration with NPCI, Amazon Pay is also expanding UPI payments to smart devices, enabling tap-and-go payments through biometric authentication and device-level encryption. The feature will initially support wearables, allowing instant payments, real-time fraud monitoring, and synced transaction alerts across devices.

Rewards and use cases

UPI Circle integrates with Amazon Pay’s rewards ecosystem, offering cashback of up to 5% on select categories once users hit spending milestones. The service can be used for P2P transfers, merchant payments, and online shopping, with bill payments and subscriptions to be added soon.

Common use cases include parents funding children’s expenses, senior citizens using delegated access, and business owners assigning small budgets to staff — all without sharing sensitive banking details.

By introducing UPI Circle and expanding UPI access to smart devices, Amazon Pay is pushing India’s fintech ecosystem toward family-inclusive, secure, and frictionless payments, marking another step in the country’s digital payments evolution.