What is the UPI mandate in an IPO?
When you apply for an IPO through a broker app using UPI, the broker sends a one-time mandate request to your UPI app (PhonePe, Google Pay, Paytm, BHIM). Approving it authorises your bank to block — not debit — the bid amount under ASBA. The money sits in your account as a 'hold' and is only debited if shares are allotted. No approved mandate means no valid bid, regardless of your balance.
When does the mandate arrive, and the deadline
The mandate usually lands in your UPI app within minutes of placing the bid, but it can take up to a few hours during peak load. You must approve it before the mandate cut-off — typically 5 PM on the issue close day (some brokers cut off at noon on the last day). Approve as early as possible; a mandate approved after the deadline, or left pending, results in a rejected application.
Mandate not received — what to do
First, open your UPI app and check the 'Mandates', 'Pending requests', or 'UPI Lite/AutoPay' section directly — many mandates are delivered there without a push notification. If it is still missing after 2-3 hours, confirm the exact UPI ID you entered in the broker app is correct and active, and that the linked bank supports IPO mandates. If nothing appears by evening on a non-last day, withdraw and re-place the bid so a fresh mandate is triggered.
Mandate failed or authorization failed
A failed or 'authorization failed' mandate usually means insufficient balance at the moment of blocking, a UPI daily/transaction limit, a bank-side technical decline, or an expired session. Fix the cause — top up the account, check the bank is up — then re-initiate. Note that a failed mandate does NOT block money; you are simply not in the bidding. Re-apply before the cut-off.
'Revoked' vs 'not unblocked' — what they mean
'Revoked' means the mandate authorisation was cancelled — either by you, by the bank, or automatically when a bid was withdrawn — so no money is held and the bid is void. 'Not unblocked' is the opposite problem: the IPO is over, you were not allotted (or only partly), yet the hold is still showing on your balance. The first means re-apply; the second means wait for the auto-release or raise it with your bank.
Approving the mandate in PhonePe, Google Pay, Paytm, BHIM
PhonePe: open the app, tap the notification or go to the bell/mandate section, review the amount, and approve with your UPI PIN. Google Pay: it appears under 'Business/transactions' or as a payment request — tap, then 'Authorize' with PIN. Paytm: check 'Balance & History' or the UPI mandate request banner. BHIM: open 'Mandate' from the menu. In all cases you enter your UPI PIN once; the amount is then blocked, not paid.
Amount blocked but no allotment
If you approved the mandate, your money was blocked for the bidding. If you are not allotted, the block is released automatically — usually within 24-48 hours of the allotment date — and the UPI mandate expires on its own. You do not need to 'cancel' anything. If the hold persists beyond 4-5 working days after allotment, contact your bank with the IPO name and mandate reference; the registrar's records will confirm you were not allotted.
UPI application limit
The UPI route supports IPO applications up to ₹5 lakh per application for individual investors — enough for retail (up to ₹2 lakh) and Small-NII (₹2-5 lakh). For bids above ₹5 lakh you cannot use the UPI mechanism; you must apply through your bank's net-banking ASBA instead. If your large bid keeps failing on UPI, this limit is often the reason.
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