Picture this: you get a message on your mobile phone – ‘UPI mandate: Sent Rs 299 from XYZ Bank to ABC Services’. Now, all you are wondering is how did this amount get debited when you didn’t even authourise such a payment. Well, this is what several Indians face every month, without knowing how to even stop this. While you might not remember making that Rs 299 payment, but go back in time a few weeks and you will realise how you had opted for a ‘free’ 7-day or 30-day trial for just Rs 1 or 2, thereby triggering a silent UPI mandate. It all seems entirely safe, free and a matter of 7 or 30 days, until you get the Rs 299 debit message. “Hidden UPI mandates impact bank balance by enabling unauthorised. These are often recurring subscriptions to siphon small amounts (like Rs 199) from a user account without getting noticed by the user,” said Sameer Mathur, MD and Founder of Roinet Solution. And since mostly, there is no need for a UPI PIN for individual transaction, any large losses tend to go un-noticed.ALSO READ | UPI and AI: 'Buy Rs 500 worth gold if price drops below Rs 16,000/g'; your wish is AI agent's command, and it can make UPI payments at your target priceHow UPI mandates get activated without you even knowing? When you opt for the small ‘free’ trial, hidden in the fine print is the UPI mandate that you never saw coming. They get activated via stealth subscriptions when you opt for any free trials that require an active mandate and automatic charging starts once the trial ends. "UPI mandates have transformed the way consumers manage recurring payments by making everything from subscriptions and utility bills to EMIs and investments more convenient. However, many users remain unaware of the number of active mandates linked to their accounts, which can quietly impact monthly cash flows,” explained Amit Nigam, Executive Director & CEO, FindiBANKIT. You might have come across several social media ads that ask you to initiate a free 7-day or a 30-day trial for some app or a streaming service for just Rs 1 or 2. But they never clearly disclose that you will be charged the subscription fee each month on authenticating this trial.ET Online