How to approve a UPI IPO mandate on Google Pay

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When you submit an IPO bid through Zerodha or any SEBI-registered broker, the sponsor bank for that issue sends a UPI mandate request to the UPI app linked to your VPA (Virtual Payment Address). If your UPI handle is registered on Google Pay, the mandate appears in the Requests tab of the Google Pay home screen. Authorising it places a lien (block) on your bank account, which is what makes the IPO bid valid. This guide covers the complete Google Pay mandate approval flow.

For the generic mandate approval flow (and a comparison table of all major UPI apps) see the generic mandate approval guide. For the bid submission procedure on Zerodha see the Kite web guide. For background on the mechanism see UPI ASBA.

Step-by-step procedure

Watch for the push notification

Within thirty seconds of submitting the IPO bid on your broker’s app, Google Pay sends a push notification. The notification typically reads Block Funds for IPO or Mandate Request, followed by the amount and the issuer name. Tap the notification to open the Requests section of Google Pay directly.

If your phone’s notification settings block Google Pay notifications, you will not receive the push notification. In that case, proceed to open the app manually.

Open Google Pay and go to the Requests tab

Open the Google Pay app on your phone. On the home screen, look for the Requests tab, accessible via the icon in the navigation area or the bottom bar depending on your app version. Alternatively, some versions of Google Pay surface pending mandates as a banner on the home screen.

Tap Requests. The pending IPO mandate appears as a card with the amount and issuer name.

If the mandate does not appear in Requests, wait one to two minutes and pull-to-refresh the section. If it still does not appear after five minutes, check whether your UPI handle is registered on a different UPI app; the mandate is sent to the app where the handle is registered on NPCI’s system, which may not be Google Pay if you registered the VPA on another app.

Tap the IPO mandate request

Tap the mandate card. Google Pay displays:

  • Payee/Issuer, the IPO company name (the mandate is raised by the sponsor bank on behalf of the issuer).
  • Amount, the mandate block amount (equal to your bid value at the upper price band).
  • Validity, the end date of the mandate (typically the listing date plus one or two working days).
  • Beneficiary bank, the sponsor bank handling the issue.

Review the mandate details

Before tapping Pay Now, verify:

  • The issuer name matches the IPO you applied for.
  • The amount matches your expected block value (number of lots times lot size times upper price band).
  • The validity period is consistent with the listing timeline of the issue.
  • The beneficiary is a recognised bank name (HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Yes Bank, SBI, etc.).

If any detail looks incorrect, do not authorise. Return to Requests, tap the mandate, and look for a Decline or Reject option. Then contact your broker for clarification.

Tap Pay Now

Tap the Pay Now button. Note that despite the label, this is not a payment; it is a mandate authorisation instruction that places a lien on your savings account. The NPCI-rendered PIN entry screen appears.

Enter your UPI PIN

Enter your four- or six-digit UPI PIN on the secure NPCI PIN screen. Google Pay (and all other UPI apps) use NPCI’s standardised SDK for PIN entry, which is why the PIN screen looks slightly different from the rest of the app. Do not screenshot this screen; many versions of Google Pay block screenshots on the PIN screen anyway.

Confirm the success screen

On successful PIN entry, Google Pay displays a success screen confirming the mandate is Active. The lien is placed on your bank account within seconds; your available balance in the bank app will drop by the block amount (though the book balance and interest-earning balance are unchanged).

Google Pay also sends a mandate confirmation to your linked Gmail account. This email serves as a receipt and includes the mandate reference number, which is useful if you later need to dispute a mandate.

Return to your broker app. On Zerodha Kite, navigate to Bids → Order history; the bid status updates from Mandate Pending to Mandate Accepted within thirty seconds of mandate authorisation.

What can go wrong

  • Requests tab shows no pending mandate. Wait two minutes and pull-to-refresh. If still absent, confirm your UPI VPA is registered on Google Pay (not on another app). Check Manage VPAs in Google Pay settings.
  • Pay Now button is greyed out. The mandate may have expired (the sponsor bank withdrew it after a timeout). Return to Zerodha Kite, check the bid status, and if it reads Mandate Pending, try withdrawing and re-submitting the bid.
  • PIN entry fails or is blocked. If you enter the wrong PIN multiple times, your UPI PIN is temporarily locked by NPCI. Use the Forgot PIN flow in Google Pay to reset; you will need your debit card last six digits and an OTP.
  • Success screen shown but Kite still shows Mandate Pending after 5 minutes. This is a propagation delay. The status on Kite updates via the exchange; wait ten minutes and refresh. If still Mandate Pending after thirty minutes, check your bank’s app for a lien entry. If the lien is visible, the mandate succeeded; the Kite update is lagging.

References

  1. NPCI UPI 2.0 mandate specification, https://www.npci.org.in/what-we-do/upi/product-overview.
  2. NPCI Circular dated 8 September 2025, Enhancement of UPI Per-Transaction Limits for Capital Markets and Insurance Premium Categories.
  3. FAQs on UPI in Public Issue Process, SEBI, July 2019.
  4. Google Pay Help Centre, About UPI mandates, https://support.google.com/pay/india.

Reviewed and published by

WebNotes Editorial Team

The WebNotes Editorial Team covers Indian capital markets, payments infrastructure and retail investor procedures. Every article is fact-checked against primary sources, principally SEBI circulars and master directions, NPCI specifications and the official support documentation published by the intermediary in question. Drafts go through a second-pair-of-eyes review and a separate compliance read before publication, and revisions are tracked against the SEBI and NPCI rule changes referenced in the methodology section.

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WebNotes is independent. No relationship with any broker, registrar or bank named in this article.