UPI changes in 2024: UPI Lite auto top-up, transaction limit hike, UPI Circle, other new features

United Payment Interface (UPI), one of India’s most popular methods for making and receiving online payments, underwent a slew of changes this year. Per NPCI (National Payments Corporation of India) data for November 2024, around 15,482 million transactions were made via UPI, totaling Rs 21,55,187.4 crore. Here are a few key changes UPI has gone through in 2024 that you should be aware of:

In August, NPCI increased the UPI limit per transaction from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 lakh under certain categories. These included making payments for direct and indirect tax purposes and paying to hospitals and educational institutions. The Rs 5 lakh limit applies if you are applying for IPOs or RBI’s retail direct scheme. The limit for other transactions related to insurance and stock markets was set at Rs 2 lakh.

This year, RBI decided to hike the limit of both UPI Lite and UPI123Pay. Notably, UPI Lite previously had a maximum wallet limit of Rs 2,000, which was bumped up to Rs 5,000. UPI Lite works best for small-value transactions and is used to make payments of up to Rs 1,000. This was previously set at Rs 500.

UPI123PAY, which allows you to access UPI without a smartphone and internet connection, also saw an increase in its per-transaction limit, from Rs 5,000 previously to Rs 10,000 now. Users can make transactions by making a missed call or dialing an IVR number.

This year, NPCI also introduced UPI circle, which allows a primary, or main UPI user to fully delegate, or authorise up to five secondary users (partial delegation) to make transactions from the bank account of the primary user. The main user can set limits on transactions as well. Every fully delegated user can spend a maximum of Rs 15,000 per month, and Rs 5,000 per transaction. In partial delegation, the primary user inputs the UPI pin to complete the transaction initiated by the secondary user.

In June 2024, RBI removed the need for additional authentication or pre-debit notification which was needed for moving money from the your bank account to your Lite wallet. So, say you have set a limit of Rs 2,000 i.e you want to top-up funds as soon as your wallet balance dips below Rs 2,000. Earlier, you had to take the extra step of authenticating the debit of the top-up amount from your bank account to replenish UPI Lite wallet. However, no such verification will be needed now, and your UPI Lite balance will be automatically topped up.