Why your UPI name doesn't match, and what to do about it

Short answer: when someone scans your QR, their UPI app shows the name on the bank account behind your UPI ID, not the name typed into the QR. Since 30 June 2025, NPCI has required this. If you put "Sharma Kirana" in the code but your account says "RAKESH K SHARMA", the customer sees RAKESH K SHARMA, and the mismatch can make them hesitate. Leave the name field blank or type your name exactly as the bank has it, and print your shop name on the card instead.

What the payer's app shows

Two names are involved when a UPI QR is scanned.

The name written into the QR. Whatever the person who made the code typed in the pn field.

The name on the bank account. The app fetches this from the bank when it looks up the UPI ID. It's the name the money goes to.

Since 30 June 2025, NPCI requires UPI apps to show only the second one on the screen before the payer enters their PIN. Apps may not display names extracted from QR codes or names users set for themselves, and they've had to remove features that let people edit the payee's name.

So a QR can't make a customer see "Sharma Kirana" if the account says "RAKESH K SHARMA". What the customer sees is always the bank's record. If the code carries a different name, some apps may also warn the payer or ask them to confirm.

Why NPCI did this: a name typed into a QR can say anything. A scammer could put "Sharma Kirana" in their own code and paste it over yours. The bank's name can't be faked that way.

Why your bank name looks different from what you expect

Even without a shop name, the name customers see often isn't quite the way you'd write it. Banks store names as they were entered at account opening, and that record is what UPI shows.

None of this is a problem. It only confuses people when the card or the code suggests a different name from the one the screen shows.

What to put in the name field

Nothing, or your name exactly as your bank shows it. Both keep the code and the screen in agreement.

The generator suggests leaving it blank. ezyupi then leaves the name out of the code entirely, and the payer's app shows your bank-registered name on its own, so there's nothing to mismatch. If you do fill it in, copy the bank's version exactly; the next section shows how to find it.

What not to do: put in a name that differs from your bank account. It can't change what the customer sees, and it's the choice most likely to make them hesitate.

How to find your bank-registered name

Scan your own QR. Make a code with your UPI ID, scan it in your UPI app, read the name on the confirmation screen, then back out without paying. That's exactly what customers see.

Check your passbook or statement. The account holder name printed there is usually the same record.

Ask a friend to start a payment to you and read the name off their screen. They can cancel before entering a PIN.

Copy it exactly, initials and order included.

Put your shop name on the card, not in the code

Print "Sharma Kirana" in large letters above the QR and add one line underneath: "You'll see RAKESH K SHARMA on your screen."

The customer sees your shop name on the card, the bank name in their app, and a line telling them the two belong together. That's more convincing than either alone, and it turns every customer into a check against QR swaps: if their screen ever shows a different name, they'll tell you.

→Print templates

Can I change the name UPI shows?

Only by changing it at your bank. UPI shows the name from your bank's records, so editing your profile name in a UPI app doesn't change what payers see.

• Spelling mistake or a name change (after marriage, for example): ask your bank to update your name with supporting documents. Once the bank's record changes, UPI shows the new name.
• Want customers to see your shop name: open a current account in your business name and link a UPI ID to it. The bank then returns "SHARMA KIRANA STORES" and the mismatch disappears for good.

For a sole proprietor, banks usually open a current account in a trade name against proof that the business exists, such as GST registration, a shop and establishment licence or Udyam registration. Your bank will tell you which proofs it accepts.

A business account also separates shop takings from personal money, which makes your records far easier to keep.

→Personal UPI for business, and the tax question

If you're the one paying

The rule protects you too. When you scan a QR and the name on the confirmation screen isn't the person or business you meant to pay, stop.

Read the name on your own screen, not the one printed on the card. The printed one can say anything. The one your app shows came from the bank.

A personal name at a shop isn't automatically a scam. Many small shops use the owner's personal account. Ask, "Is this Rakesh's account?" A genuine shopkeeper answers at once.

A completely unrelated name is a reason to stop. In January 2025, a medical-store owner in Khajuraho found that someone had pasted another QR over hers when a customer said the name on the screen had changed. If you're paying a chemist and the screen shows a name nobody at the counter recognises, pay another way and tell the owner.

→Spotting fake payment screenshots

→UPI scams and how they work