UPI transaction limits explained: From ₹1,000 to ₹5 lakh, how much can you transfer?

The commonly cited limit for a standard UPI transaction is generally ₹ 1 lakh. However, this is not a universal ceiling applicable to every payment made through the Unified Payments Interface (UPI).

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) have permitted higher transaction limits for certain categories. These include tax payments, initial public offerings (IPOs), hospitals and educational institutions, among others.

UPI also has separate transaction limits for products such as UPI Lite and UPI 123Pay.

So, before making a large payment, it is important to know which limit applies to your particular transaction.

For ordinary UPI payments, the transaction limit is generally capped at ₹ 1 lakh, as prescribed by NPCI.

However, regulators have gradually raised the permissible ceiling for specific types of payments. Higher limits are available for selected categories, including capital-market transactions, IPO applications, loan collections, insurance, healthcare and education.

This means the amount a person can transfer through UPI depends partly on the purpose of the payment.

Tax payments are among the categories that have received a higher UPI ceiling.

The RBI increased the transaction limit for tax payments from ₹ 1 lakh to ₹ 5 lakh. Therefore, a taxpayer making an eligible payment of ₹ 3 lakh, for example, can use UPI without being restricted by the standard ₹ 1 lakh limit.

The ₹ 5 lakh ceiling also covers IPO applications and transactions under the RBI Retail Direct Scheme. Payments made to hospitals and educational institutions can similarly be made through UPI up to ₹ 5 lakh per transaction.

For certain capital-market transactions and insurance payments, the applicable UPI transaction limit is ₹ 2 lakh.

UPI Lite, designed primarily for smaller-value payments, permits transactions of up to ₹ 1,000 each. Its maximum balance has been set at ₹ 5,000.

UPI 123Pay, meanwhile, was introduced to enable UPI payments through feature phones. It has a higher per-transaction ceiling of ₹ 10,000.

These products therefore operate under their own transaction rules rather than the standard UPI limits.