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A man who was checking his mother’s UPI account discovered several auto-payment authorizations from free trials, raising concerns about how small monthly fees often go unnoticed.
His post sparked a debate about digital awareness. (LinkedIn/Lokesh Ahuja and News18 photo)
Making digital payments has become part of many people’s daily lives. But one Mumbai man says a simple moment while helping his mother use UPI made him realize how easy it is to miss recurring charges.
He noted that several automatic payment authorizations were activated through free trials without his mother fully understanding what she had agreed to. His post started a conversation about digital awareness and hidden subscription payments.
Many have noticed automatic payment authorizations
Lokesh Ahuja, Assistant Vice President (Brand Management) at Nykaa and an IIM Mumbai alumnus, shared the incident on LinkedIn. He said he taught his mother how to use UPI a few months ago.
While looking through her phone, he noticed several active auto-pay authorizations and asked her what services she signed up for. “Nothing,” she replied. Ahuja later realized that all the authorizations came from free trial offers. “₹0 for first 30 days. But they also take permission to automatically charge you every month until you cancel,” he wrote.
He pointed out that it is easy to overlook these small monthly payments because they are mixed in with many other UPI transactions. “Most people never notice the INR 79 discount. Because it quietly disappears inside a statement along with a hundred other UPI transactions.”
He added that calling out AutoPay enforces the real goal behind many free trials, “This is the real product behind the free trial. Not the first free month. But the mandate of AutoPay.”
He ended his post by writing: “It’s strange how our parents used to worry about us crossing the road. Now we worry about them crossing the Internet.”
Talk about digital awareness
In his comments, Ahuja said the biggest risks of using technology have changed over time. “Before, the biggest risk was buying the wrong thing. Today, it’s agreeing to something you didn’t fully understand. Auto-pay authorizations, app permissions, location access, recurring subscriptions. They’re all small decisions made in seconds, but can drag on for months if not years,” he wrote.
He also said, “Digital literacy is no longer just about knowing how to use technology. It’s also about knowing what you’ve agreed to.”
Many people shared similar experiences
The post prompted many users to talk about recurring subscriptions and automatic payments. One person wrote: “The worst part is that most checkout pages don’t allow one-time payments and are automatically redirected to autopay.”
Another commented: “Even when people notice, it’s only when the transaction for next month has already gone through. And then you think why not use it for another month if you’ve already paid, only to eventually forget and end up paying again!”
One person said: “Digital payments have made life easier, but digital awareness is just as important. A five-minute review of automatic payment authorizations today could prevent months of unnoticed deductions.”
Another added: “UPI Autopay has become a double-edged sword now and the weakness lies in people who are new to the world of internet and fintech in general.”
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