Ask "what is the UPI limit?" and you'll get three different answers depending on who you ask, because there are really several limits stacked on top of each other. NPCI sets the ceilings for the UPI network as a whole. Your bank sets its own limits within those ceilings. And a few categories of merchant payment get a higher ceiling than everyone else.
The short version: most UPI payments, including money sent to another person, are capped at ₹1 lakh per transaction. Payments to verified merchants in certain categories, such as insurance, investments, tax, hospitals and education, can go up to ₹5 lakh. Recurring AutoPay debits have separate caps. The rest of this guide explains each limit, where it comes from, and what to do when a payment fails below the number you expected.
The limits at a glance
These are NPCI's network ceilings as of October 2026, checked against NPCI's live circulars. Your bank can apply lower limits, and many do.
| Type of payment | Per transaction | Where the rule comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Sending money to a person (P2P) | ₹1 lakh | NPCI; unchanged by the 2025 revision for merchant categories |
| Ordinary merchant payment | ₹1 lakh | NPCI |
| Hospitals and educational institutions (verified) | ₹5 lakh | Annexure to NPCI circular OC-185A (August 2024), continuing the December 2023 limit |
| Tax payments (verified) | ₹5 lakh | NPCI circular OC-185A (August 2024) |
| IPO applications and RBI Retail Direct G-Sec purchases | ₹5 lakh | Annexure to NPCI circular OC-185A |
| Verified merchants in listed categories (insurance, capital markets, travel, collections and others) | ₹5 lakh, with a 24-hour cap | NPCI circular OC-185B (August 2025) |
| UPI AutoPay without authentication each time | ₹15,000 | RBI e-mandate directions |
| AutoPay for insurance premiums, mutual funds and credit card bills | ₹1 lakh | RBI e-mandate directions |
Four layers decide whether your payment goes through
When a UPI payment is declined for its amount, it's usually one of four checks, applied in roughly this order. Knowing which one stopped you tells you what to do next.
- 1NPCI ceiling₹1 lakh by default; higher for set merchant categories
- 2Category rulesThe payee's merchant code and verified status unlock the higher ceiling
- 3Your bank's limitPer payment and per day, set within NPCI's ceiling
- 4Your appShows the error; it rarely sets the limit itself
NPCI's August 2025 circular says this plainly: banks may set their own internal limits within the ceilings NPCI prescribes, and the issuing bank keeps control of cumulative limits for its customers. That's why two people paying the same amount to the same merchant can see different results. One bank allows the full ₹5 lakh; another stops at a lower figure.
The ₹1 lakh standard limit
For most UPI payments, NPCI's ceiling is ₹1 lakh per transaction. That covers sending money to friends and family, paying most shops and online merchants, and scanning a QR code at a counter.
The ₹1 lakh figure is a per-transaction ceiling. How much you can send in a day is a separate number set by your bank, and it covers all your UPI apps together, not each one separately. Moving to a different UPI app linked to the same bank account won't give you a fresh daily allowance.
Person-to-person payments stayed at ₹1 lakh even after NPCI raised limits for merchant categories in 2025. The circular that raised them says the P2P limit continues under the existing guidelines.
Where ₹5 lakh applies
NPCI raised the ceiling for particular kinds of payment in three steps.
In December 2023, circular OC-185 raised the limit for payments to hospitals and educational institutions to ₹5 lakh per transaction. In August 2024, circular OC-185A did the same for tax payments, and its annexure lists all the ₹5 lakh categories in force at that point: tax, hospitals and educational services, and IPO and RBI Retail Direct payments. NPCI has since withdrawn the original OC-185, so OC-185A is now the live reference for those categories. Then in August 2025, circular OC-185B raised limits for a longer list of categories, for payments to merchants that the payee's bank has verified. Banks had to comply by 15 September 2025.
| Category | Per transaction | Total in 24 hours |
|---|---|---|
| Capital markets | ₹5 lakh | ₹10 lakh |
| Insurance | ₹5 lakh | ₹10 lakh |
| Government e-Marketplace: earnest money deposits | ₹5 lakh | ₹10 lakh |
| Travel | ₹5 lakh | ₹10 lakh |
| Credit card bill payments | ₹5 lakh | ₹6 lakh |
| Collections | ₹5 lakh | ₹10 lakh |
| Business and merchant payments, including pre-approved ones | ₹5 lakh | Not specified in the circular |
| Jewellery | ₹2 lakh | ₹6 lakh |
| Foreign exchange retail, through BBPS | ₹5 lakh | ₹5 lakh |
| Digital account opening: term deposits | ₹5 lakh | ₹5 lakh |
| Digital account opening: initial funding | ₹2 lakh | ₹2 lakh |
What makes a merchant "verified"
NPCI's consolidated UPI circular sets the test. A large merchant, online or offline, can be classified as a verified merchant by its bank after due diligence if it's in one of the listed segments (capital markets, insurance, Government e-Marketplace, credit card bill payments, collections, foreign exchange retail through BBPS, tax, IPOs, RBI G-Sec or government merchants) or has a consolidated annual turnover of at least ₹50 crore in the previous financial year. Your UPI app shows a green tick for verified merchants and should tell you when a higher limit applies.
Smaller limits inside UPI
Some ways of paying through UPI have their own, lower caps. These catch people out because the payment is well under ₹1 lakh:
| Feature | Limit | Source |
|---|---|---|
| UPI Lite (no PIN) | ₹1,000 per payment, ₹5,000 balance | RBI framework for small-value offline payments, as updated 4 December 2024 |
| Paying by fingerprint or face instead of your UPI PIN, where your bank offers it | Up to ₹5,000 per payment, initially | NPCI circular OC-226 (October 2025) |
| "QR share and pay": paying from a QR image saved in your gallery, to a person or a non-verified offline shop | ₹2,000 | NPCI circular OC-76C (April 2025) |
| QR share and pay for UPI payments abroad | Not allowed | NPCI circular OC-76C |
Scanning a QR code live with your camera isn't affected by the ₹2,000 cap; it applies when you upload a saved image. Our guide to UPI Lite explains how the Lite balance works, and what a UPI PIN is covers biometric approval.
UPI AutoPay has its own caps
Recurring payments through UPI AutoPay follow RBI's rules for e-mandates, not the one-off limits above. The Reserve Bank's e-mandate directions of April 2026 let a recurring debit go through without you entering your UPI PIN each time up to ₹15,000 per transaction. For insurance premiums, mutual fund subscriptions and credit card bills, that figure is ₹1 lakh.
Above those amounts, you'll be asked to authenticate each debit. Either way, you get a notice at least 24 hours before each debit and can opt out of that particular payment. If you want to stop a mandate altogether, our guide on how to cancel UPI AutoPay walks through it.
Why a payment fails below the limit
If your payment is well under ₹1 lakh and still declined for its amount, look at these first:
- Your bank's daily limit. It counts every UPI payment you've made that day, from every app. A ₹40,000 payment fails if you've already sent ₹70,000 today and your bank's daily limit is ₹1 lakh.
- Your bank's per-payment limit is lower than NPCI's. Some banks set lower limits for certain account types. Your bank's website or app lists its UPI limits.
- The merchant isn't set up for the higher category. You're paying a hospital ₹2 lakh, but its UPI ID was onboarded under a generic code, so the ₹1 lakh ceiling applies.
- The recipient's bank declined it. Limits and risk checks apply on the receiving side too, and the error you see may not say which side declined it.
- It isn't a limit at all. A technical decline or a timeout can look like a limit error in some apps. If money left your account and the payment shows failed, our guide on money debited but transaction failed covers the reversal timelines.
Three worked examples
The same rules give different answers depending on who you're paying and how.
- Paying a college fee of ₹2.4 lakh to a university's UPI ID. Educational institutions have a ₹5 lakh ceiling, so NPCI allows it. Whether it goes through depends on your bank's own limit and on the university being set up with the right merchant code. If it fails, ask the university for its bank transfer details instead.
- Sending ₹1.5 lakh to a relative. Person-to-person UPI is capped at ₹1 lakh per payment, and your bank's daily limit may stop a second payment on the same day. For this amount, a NEFT or IMPS transfer from your bank is the practical choice.
- Paying a ₹5.5 lakh insurance premium. That's above the ₹5 lakh ceiling for a single transaction even with a verified insurer. You could split it into two payments within the insurer's ₹10 lakh daily cap, if the insurer accepts part-payments and your bank's daily limit allows it. Otherwise, pay by net banking or a bank transfer.
When UPI isn't the right rail
UPI is built for everyday amounts. For larger payments, bank transfers have wider limits, and RBI publishes them.
| Amount | Usually the simplest option | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Up to ₹1 lakh | UPI | Instant, and within the standard ceiling |
| ₹1 lakh to ₹5 lakh, to a verified merchant in a listed category | UPI, if your bank allows it | The higher category ceiling applies |
| ₹1 lakh to ₹2 lakh, to a person | NEFT or IMPS | Above UPI's P2P ceiling, below RTGS's minimum |
| ₹2 lakh and above | RTGS or NEFT | RTGS has a ₹2 lakh minimum and no maximum; RBI sets no NEFT limit |
NEFT and RTGS both run round the clock, all year. For a side-by-side view of speed, cost and limits across rails, see India's payment rails compared.
If you're a merchant taking large UPI payments
If your customers regularly pay more than ₹1 lakh, the limits above become your problem as well as theirs. Three things are worth checking with your bank or payment provider:
- Your merchant category code. The higher limits are tied to the category, so an insurer, hospital, school or broker onboarded under a generic code loses them.
- Your verified status. NPCI's 2025 limits apply to verified merchants. Ask your provider whether your UPI ID qualifies.
- A fallback for amounts above the limit. Offer net banking, cards or a bank transfer to a virtual account for payments UPI can't carry, so the customer doesn't hit a dead end at checkout.
Cost changes too. From 15 October 2026, UPI merchant payments above ₹2,000 carry an MDR of 0.4%, capped at ₹300 per payment. Our MDR explainer has the details, and the UPI and QR guide covers how UPI collection works on the merchant side.
Frequently asked questions
What is the UPI limit per day?
NPCI sets per-transaction ceilings; the daily limit for your payments is set by your bank and covers all your UPI apps together, so check your bank's website or app for its figure. For verified merchants in some categories, NPCI also sets 24-hour caps, from ₹2 lakh to ₹10 lakh depending on the category.
Is the UPI limit per app or per bank account?
Per bank account, set by your bank. Using two UPI apps on the same account doesn't double it.
Does the ₹5 lakh limit apply when I pay a friend?
No. Payments to a person stay at ₹1 lakh per transaction. The higher limits apply only to verified merchants in listed categories.
Can my bank set a limit lower than ₹1 lakh?
Yes. NPCI's figures are ceilings, and its circulars let banks set internal limits within them.
Why did a ₹3,000 UPI payment fail with a limit error?
Check whether you paid from a QR image saved in your gallery, which is capped at ₹2,000 for payments to people and non-verified shops, whether you were paying from UPI Lite (₹1,000 per payment), or whether your bank's daily limit was already used up.
Go deeper
Official sources
- NPCI — Addendum to OC 185A: Implementation of higher per transaction limit for specific categories in UPI, NPCI/UPI/2025-26/OC/185B (28 Aug 2025)Category-wise per-transaction and 24-hour limits for verified merchants; compliance by 15 Sep 2025; banks may set internal limits within the ceilings; P2P unchanged.
- NPCI — Implementation of Rs 5 Lakh limit per transaction for specific categories in UPI, NPCI/UPI/2024-25/OC/185A (24 Aug 2024)₹5 lakh for verified merchants in tax payments (new), hospitals and educational services (continuing from OC-185) and IPO / RBI Retail Direct (continuing from OC-127). NPCI lists the original OC-185 as withdrawn.
- NPCI — Revision in transaction limits based on merchant and transaction type, NPCI/UPI/OC-76C/2025-26 (8 Apr 2025)QR share and pay capped at ₹2,000 for P2P and non-verified offline merchants; not allowed for UPI Global payments; P2P intent disallowed.
- NPCI — Introduction of Additional Authentication methods in UPI, NPCI/UPI/OC-226/2025-26 (7 Oct 2025)On-device biometric authentication in place of the UPI PIN, initially for transactions up to ₹5,000.
- NPCI — UPI Consolidated Circular, Version 1.0, NPCI/UPI/CC/01 (18 Sep 2026)Verified merchant criteria, including the ₹50 crore turnover test and green tick (7.8); MCC-wise limits (7.3).
- RBI — Framework for Facilitating Small Value Digital Payments in Offline Mode (updated 4 Dec 2024)UPI Lite: ₹1,000 per transaction, ₹5,000 total.
- RBI — Digital Payments – E-mandate Framework, 2026 (21 Apr 2026)₹15,000 per recurring transaction without AFA; ₹1 lakh for insurance premiums, mutual funds and credit card bills; 24-hour pre-debit notice.
- RBI — FAQs on RTGS₹2 lakh minimum, no maximum; available 24x7x365 since 14 Dec 2020.
- RBI — FAQs on NEFTNo limit imposed by RBI; banks may set their own; available 24x7x365.
- NPCI — Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on Select UPI (P2M) Transactions: FAQs (15 Sep 2026)0.4% MDR above ₹2,000 from 15 Oct 2026, capped at ₹300.
Last reviewed . Examples, amounts and screens marked illustrative are not LILPE figures.
