RBI Increases UPI Transaction Limits & Introduces Beneficiary Name Verification For RTGS, NEFT

New Delhi: In the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting on Wednesday, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced an increase in the transaction limits for Unified Payments Interface (UPI) services. 

For UPI users of keypad mobile phones without internet, the pre-transaction limit has been increased from Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000. The UPI service, called UPI123Pay, for feature phones without internet, was launched in March 2022.  

The RBI has also increased the UPI Lite wallet limit from Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000. The per-transaction limit for UPI Lite has been increased from Rs 500 to Rs 1,000. 

The announcement was made by RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das 

 “To further encourage wider adoption of UPI and make it more inclusive, it has been decided to enhance the per-transaction limit in UPI123Pay from Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000; and increase the UPI Lite wallet limit from Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000 and per-transaction limit from Rs 500 to Rs 1,000,” he said. 

The move is likely to boost digital transactions and financial inclusion in the country. 

RBI also introduced a beneficiary account name look-up feature for the Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) and National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) systems. Currently, this feature is available for UPI and Immediate Payment Service (IMPS), allowing the remitter to confirm the receiver’s name before finalizing a transaction.

“This facility will enable the remitter to verify the name of the account holder before effecting funds transfer to him/her through RTGS or NEFT. This will also reduce the possibility of wrong credits and frauds” added Das.