RBI raises UPI limit for payment in hospitals, educational institutes to Rs 5 lakh

Paying larger amount, including hospital bills and educational institutions fees, through Unified Payments Interface, or UPI, will now be easier as the RBI Friday announced to raise its limit from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 lakh. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) hiked the cap for e-mandates for recurring payments to Rs 1 lakh. The major decision was announced by RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das while unveiling the December bi-monthly monetary policy. He said the limit for various categories of UPI transactions has been reviewed from time to time. “It is now proposed to enhance the UPI transaction limit for payment to hospitals and educational institutions from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 lakh per transaction,” Das said. He further said that e-mandates for making payments of a recurring nature have become popular among customers. Under the e-mandate framework, an additional factor of authentication (AFA) is required for recurring transactions exceeding Rs 15,000 currently. “It is now proposed to enhance this limit to Rs 1 lakh per transaction for recurring payments of mutual fund subscriptions, insurance premium subscriptions and credit card repayments,” the governor said. The measure, Das said, will further accelerate the usage of e-mandates. The RBI has also announced to set up a “Fintech Repository” for a better understanding of developments in the fintech ecosystem and support the sector. “This will be operationalised by the Reserve Bank Innovation Hub in April 2024 or earlier. FinTechs would be encouraged to provide relevant information voluntarily to this Repository,” Das said. Financial entities like banks and NBFCs in India are increasingly partnering with fintechs. The RBI Governor also said the central bank is working on the establishment of a cloud facility for the financial sector in India. Banks and financial entities are maintaining an ever-increasing volume of data. Many of them are utilising cloud facilities for this purpose, he added. “The Reserve Bank is working on establishing a cloud facility for the financial sector in India for this purpose,” Das said, adding such a facility would enhance data security, integrity, and privacy. It will also facilitate better scalability and business continuity. Das said the cloud facility is intended to be rolled out in a calibrated fashion over the medium term. With inputs from PTI