February 5, 2025 · 12 mins read
Santosh Kumar
UPIs have changed Indian digital transactions like never before, including how payment transactions can become fast, painless, seamless, and reliable. Banks or regulatory bodies can place certain limitations on the way one performs its transactions to address security and possible risks associated with them. Individuals and corporates must gain a fair sense of the permissible limits when working through UPIs.
The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and individual banks have established these limits to control transaction volumes, prevent fraudulent activities, and ensure a stable payment system. Restrictions vary with bank, type of transaction, and account category. Though NPCI has standardized the daily limit to ₹1 lakh per user, banks offer other types of transactions, including stock trading, insurance payment, and merchant payment, on a higher threshold.
Users may also face some per-transaction restrictions, daily transaction limits, and account verification level-based restrictions. Knowing about these limitations is vital for people and companies that can prevent interruption of financial activities. The knowledge about UPI limitations will enable users to better plan for their transactions or avoid failed transactions and seek alternatives in digital payment if required.
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Although UPI transactions have revolutionized financial transactions, security concerns and system efficiency must be guaranteed. That is why the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and individual banks impose restrictions on UPI payments in the form of UPI limits. These limitations are for more than one reason, namely, fraud prevention, network efficiency, risk management, and regulatory requirements.
With the rise of digital payments like UPI, fraudulent activities like phishing, hacking, unauthorized payments, unauthorized access and account takeover have also increased in number. Cybercriminals have become skilled and can exploit loopholes in payment systems, and they target customers with smart strategies like fake UPI links, spoof calls, and malware attacks.
Imposing transaction limits limits the scope of fraud by capping the amount transferred in a time interval. If an unauthorized hacker gains control of an account, the limits do not permit them to empty the user's account in a single transaction. Banks also reduce the initial limit for newly registered UPI users to limit the risk of fraud. Based on transaction history and user verification, UPI limits can be increased.
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UPI processes millions of transactions in a day, making it one of the busiest digital payment networks in the world. Monitoring the banking server load is necessary to ensure efficient and smooth transactions for all customers. Unmatched transactions overwhelm the system and cause delays, failed payments, or technical errors.
The regulatory authorities and banks control the number of transactions through per-transaction and daily limits. Since these prevent the risk of high-demand requests for transactions and affect the system performance, smooth payment processing on all banking networks is ensured. Network efficiency has to be ensured to provide an uninterrupted and reliable experience to the users in UPI.
Every institution's risk assessment policies are normally dependent on the customer profile, transaction behaviour, and account histories. Some may have a higher UPI limit because of their history in the bank, and some may have a lower limit due to newness or lower usage. Institutions can determine the limit for each user by evaluating variables such as account age, transaction frequency, activity history, and many others.
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RBI and NPCI regulate digital payments for financial security and stability. The regulatory authority limits transactions so that money laundering, terror funding, and other illegal financial transactions may not be executed.
Regulatory compliance ensures that digital payment platforms are secure, reliable, and transparent. Additionally, transaction monitoring systems detect suspicious transactions and flag unusual transactions beyond set limits. Institutions need to report high-value or suspicious transactions to further ensure financial security and protect users from potential risks.
There are several types of UPI limits, such as the limit on each transaction, the number of daily transactions, the limit per day for a number of transactions, and the merchant payment limit. These limits enable users to make payments efficiently with proper transaction management without disruptions.
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Each bank has defined the maximum amount it can transfer using any single UPI transaction. This is set as the upper limit for one transaction, defined to prevent an unauthorized high-value transaction from passing through, therefore maintaining the system's security.
General Limit: Most banks accept UPI transactions ranging from ₹25,000 to ₹2,00,000 per transaction.
Some banks offer higher per-transaction limits to verified users who have completed full KYC or Know Your Customer verification and have a good banking history.
Specific Transactions: Some specific transactions, such as stock market investments, insurance premium payments, and huge business payments, may have higher limits, subject to approval from the respective banks. For example, suppose someone wants to make a huge purchase or settle a property-related transaction. In that case, he/she might require reconfirmation of the upper limit placed on per-transfer transactions with his/her respective bank. Certain apps, which are investment and trading apps, provide a certain amount under specific UPI-enabled services.
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The daily transaction limit is the maximum amount that a user can transfer in one day using UPI. It limits the number of transactions one can make while keeping one's funds safe from potential cyber threats.
Standard NPCI Limit: UPI's general daily transaction limit is ₹1,00,000 per user.
Bank-Specific Variations: Some banks have extended the daily limit to ₹2,00,000 or more for select customers or certain categories of transactions.
Account-Based Restrictions: The daily UPI limit can vary depending on factors like account type, transaction history, and the bank’s internal policies. For example, if the user has to make recurrent payments for business or high-value expenses, they will require a higher daily limit. In such scenarios, banks can allow customers to request an increase in their daily UPI transaction limit based on verification and account eligibility.
To prevent excessive or suspicious transactions, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has capped the total number of UPI transactions a user can make in a day.
Standard Limit: Most banks allow users to make between 10 to 20 transactions per day. Temporary Restrictions: If a user reaches his daily transaction count limit, he has to wait until the next day to initiate further transactions.
Fraud Prevention Measures: Banks may limit further transfers or require authentication if several transactions are identified as suspicious activity.
Those who keep on doing small-value transactions, for example, multiple online purchases, bill payments, or business transactions, might hit the limit of per day count of transactions earlier than the monetary limit for the system. Hence, they have to club their payments or use some other mode like NEFT, RTGS, or IMPS to make further remittances.
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Most transactions between consumers and businesses are typically made with merchant payments, where UPI limits vary from the usual P2P transactions. UPI facilitates more payments while providing security.
Higher Limits of Payments for Businesses: Some banks offer UPI payments beyond ₹2,00,000 for certain business transactions, investment payments, and credit card bill settlements.
Platform-Specific Differences: Digital banks like Amazon Pay, Google Pay, and Paytm have various UPI limits depending on the banking and merchant relationships.
Loan Payments and Investments: Customers whose UPI-based transactions are for loan EMI payments, mutual fund investing, and stock trading can have higher limits according to their banking arrangement.
For instance, a business can collect payments from customers through UPI and have a higher limit on incoming transactions, while a user paying a vendor for bulk orders may be restricted by per-transaction or daily limits.
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If you use third-party UPI applications, you can get to know the limit of the transactions done with their respective mobile apps. A majority of leading banks offer UPI services in their mobile applications. For instance, State Bank of India, ICICI HDFC, Axis Bank, etc.
1. Go to the bank's Mobile Application: Log into the application using your credentials and your respective bank's app.
2. UPI Section: Once logged in, access the UPI section of the app.
3. Check Limits: You can view your UPI transaction limit, including limits per transaction and per day.
Some banks even have a particular "Limits" section where detailed information about UPI transaction and withdrawal limits is available.
If you cannot locate your UPI transaction limit by the app, you can contact the respective bank's customer care. Since all banks maintain a helpline for mobile banking issues, they will certainly help you gain information about UPI transaction limits.
You could also log onto the respective bank's official site or, in fact, use their online chat facility to ask them about UPI limits.
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Knowing your daily UPI limit will also be important while making your transaction plans. You can check your daily UPI limit with ease, almost similar to how you check your daily transaction limit. Let's see how you can do it.
Check per day limit using your UPI App, as most UPI apps let you check your per-day and transaction limits. For example, with Google Pay:
1. Open Google Pay: Open the app.
2. Go to Profile Section: Tap on the profile icon in the top-right.
3. Choose Bank Account: Under "Payment Methods," tap on the bank account you wish to view.
4. View Limits: This is where it lists your per-day limit and how many you can send in 24 hours.
If you believe the limits are not appropriate based on your needs, then increase UPI limits by following these steps:
Fulfil KYC: One of the easiest ways to increase your UPI transactions and per-day limits is to fulfil the KYC verification and ensure that your bank account is fully verified.
Upgrade Your Account: If you hold a low-limit account type, look to upgrade to a premium account. Most banks have premium or business accounts with higher transaction limits.
Contact Your Bank: In certain situations, it is possible to contact the bank directly and explain the need to increase the UPI limit in case of such a legitimate necessity.
Multiple UPI IDs: If you are a high-volume user, you can create multiple UPI IDs, which will help you access different accounts by raising separate transactions.
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Factors that influence your account's limits on UPI are the following:
Transaction History: If you have a history of consistent transactions with your bank or UPI app, your limits may be adjusted upward. Banks may also assess the frequency and volume of your previous transactions.
UPI App Settings: The transaction limits differ in all UPI apps. You can increase the limit of a particular app by activating the account or performing additional verification.
Security and Fraud Prevention: UPI apps and banks take fraud seriously. If they suspect an activity, they might temporarily restrict the limits of your transactions or even the daily limit so that fraud cannot be avoided.
Bank Policy: The prime variation is in the limit specified by various banks for transactions through UPI and for the day. Very large and premium/ business accounts may have much higher limits, and restrictions for regular savings accounts may be more restricted.
Account Type: There are different large account types in the respective banks, as some do not allow savings, current, or even business account types. Business accounts are mostly supposed to have high limits for big and significant transactions.
KYC Verification: KYC verification increases the UPI limits. Without KYC, your limits will be much lower because KYC verifies your identity, reducing fraud risks.
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Understanding the UPI limit is critical for smooth transactions. Whether you are a frequent user or a business owner, it is very important to be aware of such limitations so that you can better plan your payments and avoid transaction failures. Check with your bank for the specific UPI limits applicable to your account to ensure seamless digital transactions.
Why did my UPI transaction decline, although within the limit?
Transactions can go wrong for multiple reasons, such as the number reaching the limit allowed per day, a bad internet connection, the banks' servers being down, or an incorrect entry of the UPI PIN.
How can I view the UPI limits?
You may check the same on your app from the banking, the app from the platform, or customer support at your bank.
Are there any business-related UPI limits?
Yes, the UPI limits may vary from business to business depending on the volume of transactions, type of account, and merchant agreements with banks.
What happens if I exceed my UPI limit?
If you exceed your limit, transactions will be declined until the reset period (usually 24 hours) ends.
What is the difference between the per-transaction limit and the per-day limit?
The per-transaction limit is the amount one can send in a single UPI transaction. The per-day limit, however, is the total amount you can send through UPI within a 24-hour, irrespective of the number of transactions. The per-day limit is a cumulative limit for all UPI transactions performed in a day.
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