Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanata Das revealed key decisions regarding the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) on Friday. These include a substantial increase in the UPI payment limit for hospitals and educational institutions from ₹1 lakh to ₹5 lakh.
Uplifted UPI Limits:
- During the bi-monthly monetary policy announcement, Governor Das disclosed the elevation of the UPI payment limit for hospitals and educational institutions.
- The new limit, now ₹5 lakh per transaction, aims to facilitate seamless and higher-value payments for educational and healthcare purposes.
- UPI transaction limits for various categories are subject to periodic revisions.
E-mandate Limit Boost:
- The RBI also announced a significant enhancement in the e-mandate limit for recurring payments, increasing it to ₹1 lakh from ₹15,000 per transaction.
- This development applies to recurring payments such as mutual fund subscriptions, insurance premiums, and credit card repayments.
- Previously, the Additional Factor of Authentication (AFA) was mandatory for recurring transactions exceeding ₹15,000. The new limit of ₹1 lakh seeks to simplify e-mandate usage for larger transactions.
Monetary Policy Highlights:
- The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided to maintain the key repo rate unchanged for the fifth consecutive time.
Understanding E-mandate:
- E-mandate, a digital payment option introduced in August 2019, allows for seamless recurring payments with user authorization.
- With the proposed limit increase, AFA won’t be mandatory for transactions up to ₹1 lakh, easing the setup and use of e-mandates for larger transactions.
- The current count of registered e-mandates is 8.5 crore, processing nearly ₹2,800 crore of transactions monthly.
Decoding UPI AutoPay:
- UPI AutoPay, known as the UPI Automatic Payment feature, facilitates scheduled fixed monthly payments for subscriptions, utility services, etc.
- Users can set up, modify, or revoke auto-debit mandates using the ‘Mandate’ option in UPI applications.
- The feature simplifies payments by automatically deducting the predetermined amount from the user’s bank account on the specified date.
