Limits by Use Case

A table of UPI per-transaction ceilings with units and the date each limit took effect.

The standard UPI transfer limit is ₹200,000 per transaction, raised from ₹100,000 in March 2020. This is the ceiling most users hit when sending money to another person or paying a merchant.

The Retail Direct Scheme and IPO applications carry a higher ₹500,000 per-transaction ceiling, set in December 2021. This limit applies to government securities investment routes and public share offerings, not to everyday transfers.

UPI 123PAY, the rail for feature phones without a smartphone OS, was raised from ₹5,000 to ₹10,000 on 9 October 2024. It is the lowest of the published per-transaction ceilings because the handset has no screen for reviewing details.

A delegated secondary user has a cooling-period daily limit of about 5,000 for the first 24 hours after the delegation is created. After that window the standard limits apply.

Limits are set per use case, not per user, so the same person can send ₹200,000 in a standard transfer and ₹500,000 through the Retail Direct Scheme on the same day. The table below compares them side by side.

• Standard transfer: ₹200,000, raised from ₹100,000 in March 2020
• Retail Direct Scheme and IPO applications: ₹500,000, set December 2021
• UPI 123PAY for feature phones: ₹10,000 from 9 October 2024, previously ₹5,000
• Delegated secondary user: about 5,000 daily for the first 24 hours
• Crossing the ceiling for your use case rejects the payment before any debit

Further reading

• A UPI Payment, Step by Step
• From 93,000 Transactions to 640 Million a Day