Starting October 1, 2025, SEBI has launched a standardized and secure payment framework across all investor-facing intermediaries. This initiative uses “validated UPI IDs” to protect investors against fraud and make payments in the securities market more transparent and reliable.

 

What’s Changing? Key Highlights

1.      All SEBI-registered market intermediaries (such as brokers, mutual funds, depositaries, RTAs, etc.) will only use special, validated UPI IDs for collecting payments from investors.

2.      When paying via UPI, investors will see a confirmation symbol—a thumbs-up inside a green triangle—confirming payment to a SEBI-verified intermediary.

3.      Investors will be able to use the new “SEBI Check” tool to verify a UPI ID and ensure it’s assigned to a registered intermediary before making a payment.

 

How Investors Can Verify and Stay Secure

1.      Every valid UPI handle from Choice will begin with “choice” as the prefix.

2.      There may be an additional field after “choice”, like “rzp”, “ntt”, or “cc”, which indicates payments are being routed through payment gateways such as Razorpay, NTT Payments, or the Clearing Corporation (used for mutual funds).

3.      Before the “@” symbol, the UPI handle will include a category-specific suffix. Common suffixes include:

a.      brk (Stock Broker)

b.      dp (Depository Participant)

c.      ra (Research Analyst)

d.      ia (Investment Adviser)

e.      mf (Mutual Fund)

f.       pms (Portfolio Manager).

4.      After the “@” symbol, the UPI address must contain the word “valid”, immediately followed by the bank’s name (e.g., “@validhdfc”).

5.      Payments made to verified intermediaries via the above handles will show a “thumbs-up in a green triangle” icon during UPI confirmation and on all official QR codes.

6.      Always check this symbol on QR codes before making payments and verify that the UPI handle matches the intermediary's details.

 

Practical examples of valid UPI handle you can check of Choice:

  •     choice.brk@valid (for payments to Choice Equity Broking Pvt Ltd where valid will follow with the respective bank code).
  •      choice.rzp1.brk@valid (for payments to Choice Equity Broking Pvt Ltd routed through Razorpay payment gateway where valid will follow with the respective bank code). 

Why This Matters

The aim of this new process is to ensure investor funds reach only legitimate, SEBI-registered market participants. The exclusive use of validated UPI IDs, visual verification (thumbs-up icon), and the SEBI Check tool make it much harder for fraudsters to impersonate intermediaries or mislead investors.

 What Investors Should Do

  • Always use UPI handles and QR codes that clearly display the “thumbs-up in a green triangle” symbol.
  • Double-check that the intermediary name, business segment suffix, and “valid” handle are present in the UPI address.
  • Be cautious of any payment request lacking these security indicators and quickly contact the intermediary in case of doubts.
  • By taking these simple precautions and making use of the new validation features, investors can make payments with confidence and help build a safer securities market for all.


Note: Please ensure that all your payments are made only from the registered bank account recorded with us.