Your card is activated the moment you set your UPI PIN. Here is how:

Once the PIN is set, your card is active and you can start paying.

Please keep the SIM for your registered mobile number in the phone you are using. Activation will not complete without it.

Your UPI PIN is the 6 digit number you enter to approve every payment. It is what keeps your card safe.

Setting it is also what activates your card, so you will need to set it before you can pay.

Never share your UPI PIN with anyone. Kiwi will never ask you for it.

If the reset does not go through, check the article on UPI PIN setup failures below before trying repeatedly. Too many attempts will lock the reset for 24 hours.

Yes. Your UPI PIN in the Kiwi app and the PIN on your physical card are separate.

You can set your UPI PIN in the Kiwi app. The PIN for the physical card is set with the bank that issued it.

Setting up your card

The message on your screen tells you which reason applies. The most common ones are below.

If none of these match what you are seeing, write to us from the ###Need Help### section of the app and tell us the exact message on your screen.

This message does not mean you typed the wrong number.

It means your Aadhaar is registered against a different mobile number from the one on your Kiwi account.

What to do

Entering your Aadhaar number again will not change the result, and repeated attempts will lock verification for 24 hours.

Aadhaar verification locks for 24 hours once too many attempts have failed. Nothing you do during this time will unlock it earlier.

If your attempts failed because your Aadhaar is registered against a different mobile number, use this time to update your number in Aadhaar so it matches the one registered with Kiwi.

Once the 24 hours have passed and your number matches, open the Kiwi app and set your UPI PIN again.

Setup is blocked for 24 hours once the maximum number of attempts is reached. Please try again after that.

Before you retry, check two things. Make sure you are entering the most recent OTP you received, and make sure you have selected the correct card.

If you are resetting a PIN you already had, choose a new PIN rather than the one you were using before.

A newly issued card can take a short while to be recognised across the UPI network.

If linking fails on a card you have just received, wait a little and try again.

If it still does not link after that, write to us from the ###Need Help### section of the app with your registered mobile number and we will check it for you.

These are three separate steps, and a problem in one does not mean the others are affected.

If you tell us which of the three you are stuck on, we can help you much faster.

When activation does not work

UPI is linked to the device you set it up on. After moving to a new phone, you will need to verify the new device and set your UPI PIN again.

Before you start, make sure the SIM for the mobile number registered with Kiwi is in the new phone. Verification will not complete without it.

Device verification sends a message from the SIM of the mobile number registered with Kiwi, so that SIM needs to be in the phone you are using.

Use the same mobile number across three places: your Kiwi account, the SIM in your phone, and the number registered with your bank.

If these do not match, device verification and UPI PIN setup will not complete.

Device and SIM

A newly approved card can take a short while to appear. Close the app fully and open it again.

If it still does not appear, write to us from the ###Need Help### section of the app with your registered mobile number and we will check the status for you.

Your card number, expiry date and CVV are shown once your card is active and your UPI PIN is set.

If the option is not available, your card is most likely not activated yet. Set your UPI PIN first.

What is a UPI PIN and why do I need one?