The short answer
PhonePe creates a UPI ID from your mobile number automatically when you link a bank account. To add a private, username-based one instead: open PhonePe, tap your profile photo, open UPI IDs, then Add new UPI ID and type a name instead of accepting the number. Confirm, and the new ID is active immediately — your original number-based ID keeps working alongside it, just masked to its last four digits for anyone paying you.
Step by step in PhonePe
PhonePe updates its screens between app versions, so the exact label can read "UPI IDs", "My UPI ID" or sit inside a payment-settings menu. If you don't see it immediately, search PhonePe's in-app help for "UPI ID" — the destination is the same screen either way.
After you create it
What you can do next
- Set the new username ID as your default from the same screen.
- Share it instead of your number when someone asks for your UPI ID.
- Keep both IDs active — PhonePe supports more than one per account.
Worth knowing
- Your old ID isn't removed unless you delete it separately.
- A QR code printed with the old ID keeps working — it isn't reprinted automatically.
- Bank-side details (OTPs, statements) still use your real number.
Related UPI guides and tools
Sources and methodology
- PhonePe: UPI terms — PhonePe's UPI participation and PSP-bank structure.
- MediaNama: NPCI asks UPI apps to mask phone numbers, pushes username IDs — the masking directive this guide's "what happens to your old ID" answer relies on.
PhonePe does not publish a single dedicated help article with the exact current menu wording for adding a UPI ID, and screens shift between app versions. The steps above describe the general path reported consistently across PhonePe's own UPI terms and independent how-to coverage; treat exact label text as approximate and follow PhonePe's own on-screen prompts if they differ.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will creating a new UPI ID delete my old one in PhonePe?
No. PhonePe adds the new ID alongside your existing one rather than replacing it. You can keep sending and receiving on either, and switch which one is shown as default from the same UPI IDs screen.
What happens to my old number-based ID after I switch?
It keeps working. Under NPCI's number-masking rule, anyone paying you now sees only the last four digits of the number in that ID rather than the full ten — it isn't disabled or deleted.
What's a good private UPI ID username?
A short name-based handle without your date of birth or full legal name, such as rahul.pay or rahulk25. Avoid anything that maps back to a searchable number or birth year.
What if my preferred username is already taken?
PhonePe will tell you at the confirmation step. Try adding a digit or a short suffix — rahul.pay1, rahulk.upi, or a nickname you don't use elsewhere — rather than falling back to your number.
Which handle should I pick — @ybl, @axl or @ibl?
Any of them work the same way for sending and receiving money; they just indicate a different partner bank behind PhonePe's UPI plumbing. There's no privacy or reliability difference between them for everyday use.