UPI error VH: Mandate signature tampered or corrupt
Raised by: Payer's bank. Source: NPCI, UPI Error and Response Codes v2.9, section 3.1, codes populated by banks and PSPs.
What it means
The digital signature on the mandate failed the payer's bank's check, so the bank treats the mandate as tampered or corrupt.
No. This decline happens before your account is debited.
Nothing to refund in the normal case. If a debit does show on your statement, the bank must reverse it by T+1 for a transfer to a person, or T+5 for a payment to a merchant.
Payer's bank, checking the mandate.
Business: the systems worked and declined the payment.
What you should do
Ask the merchant to send a fresh mandate request and approve it again.
If you are a merchant, bank or PSP
Check how you store and forward the signed mandate. Any change to the signed payload breaks the signature. Create a new mandate.
UPI error VH kya hai?
VH ka matlab hai mandate ka signature kharab ya badla hua hai.
Related codes
If it still isn't sorted
- Raise a complaint inside your UPI app. Every UPI app has a help or dispute option on the transaction, and it goes into NPCI's online dispute system. Keep the UPI transaction ID or RRN handy.
- If the app doesn't resolve it, contact your bank's grievance desk with the same reference.
- If your bank hasn't replied within 30 days, or you're not happy with the reply, complain to the RBI Ombudsman at cms.rbi.org.in. It's free.
Technical or business decline?
NPCI splits declines into two kinds. A technical decline means a system didn't respond or failed: a bank offline, a timeout, a switch error. A business decline means the systems worked and said no, for a reason about the account or the payment: wrong PIN, not enough money, a limit, a risk check. Retrying helps with some technical declines and almost never with business ones.