The Unified Payments Interface (UPI), used for immediate money transfers through mobile devices, has become the fastest-growing payment mode in the country. Since its launch, the volume of digital transactions in India has increased exponentially. To enhance the scope of UPI payments, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced some measures and changes that will be applicable from January 1, 2024.
Notably, The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has asked payment apps such as Google Pay, Paytm, PhonePe, etc., and banks to deactivate the UPI IDs and numbers that have not been active for more than one year. The daily payment limit for UPI transactions shall now be Rs. 1 lakh maximum, as per NPCI. However, RBI raised the transaction limit for UPI payments to hospitals and educational institutions to Rs 5 lakh on December 8, 2023, to broaden the use of UPI payments.
There will also be a 1.1 per cent interchange fee on certain merchant UPI transactions above Rs 2,000, made using prepaid payment instruments (PPI) like online wallets.
To curb rising instances of online payment fraud, a four-hour time limit would be applicable each time a user initiates the first payment exceeding Rs 2,000 to another user with whom they have not previously transacted. UPI members will be able to soon go live with the UPI ‘Tap and Pay' functionality.
Additionally, RBI in collaboration with the Japanese company Hitachi, will now roll out UPI ATMs all across India wherein you can scan a QR code to withdraw cash from your bank account.
Notably, the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is a real-time payment system in India that allows seamless, instant transactions between different banks using smartphones.
In August 2023, UPI achieved a remarkable milestone by crossing 10 billion transactions. A top official from the National Payments Corporation of India said that the country has the potential to do 100 billion Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions a month.
