RBI Raises UPI Transaction Limits: The Reserve Bank of India announced key revisions of UPI payment limits on Friday. The RBI has raised the UPI payment limit to hospitals and educational institutions to Rs 5 lakh. Previously it was Rs 1 lakh. RBI has also hiked the cap for e-mandates for recurring payments to Rs 1 lakh.
During the release of the bi-monthly monetary policy in December, Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das announced the periodic review of limits for different categories of Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions.
The RBI Governor said that the proposal includes an increase in the UPI transaction limit for payments to hospitals and educational institutions from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 lakh per transaction.
The raised limit aims to facilitate consumers in conducting UPI payments for education and healthcare purposes involving higher amounts. Additionally, Shaktikanta Das highlighted the increasing popularity of e-mandates among customers for recurring payments.
Under the current e-mandate framework, an additional factor of authentication (AFA) is necessary for recurring transactions exceeding Rs 15,000. However, Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das proposed an increase in this limit to Rs 1 lakh per transaction for recurring payments involving mutual fund subscriptions, insurance premiums, and credit card repayments. He highlighted that this measure aims to further boost the adoption of e-mandates.
In addition, the RBI announced the establishment of a “Fintech Repository” to gain deeper insights into developments within the fintech ecosystem and to offer support to the sector. Governor Das mentioned that this repository, to be operationalized by the Reserve Bank Innovation Hub by April 2024 or earlier, will encourage FinTechs to voluntarily contribute relevant information.
Furthermore, it was stated that financial entities like banks and NBFCs in India are increasingly collaborating with fintech companies. Governor Das noted the RBI’s efforts towards establishing a cloud facility for the financial sector in India to address the rising volume of data being managed by banks and financial entities. This facility aims to enhance data security, integrity, and privacy while facilitating scalability and ensuring business continuity. The implementation of this cloud facility is planned to be phased in gradually over the medium term.