On October 9, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had extended the transaction limit from ₹5,000 to ₹10,000 for UPI 123Pay. A circular post this has been issued by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), telling the members (including banks and service providers) to ensure that the new limits are adhered to.
RBI Announces Key Changes to UPI 123Pay, Including Increased Transaction Limits and New Guidelines
For the uninitiated, the UPI 123PAY enables digital payments on feature phones to access UPI services without internet connection. When it comes to payment methods, there are 4 payment methods in the same: through IVR numbers, missed calls, OEM-embedded apps and sound-based technology.
NPCI has issued an immediate deadline to banks, PSBs and service providers for the roll out to be effective on Jan 1, 2025 to banks, PSBs and service providers for these changes to come into effect.
Key changes:
- The transaction limit is to be raised from ₹5,000 to ₹10,000.
- On boarding for these transactions to be implemented with Aadhaar OTP in UPI 123Pay.
- The members will collectively identify and tag UPI 123Pay transactions as per the rules given below:
A.) New purpose code 86 is issued for UPI 123Pay transactions. All 123Pay transactions should be passed with purpose code 86 in the purpose=” “tag for financial and non-financial transactions.
B.) Initiation modes to be passed as per UPI procedural guidelines. Earlier allotted initiation mode =31 will be considered null and void.
C.) Initiation channel
On call based: <Tag name= “TYPE” value = “IVR”/>
Feature phone based application: <Tag name = “TYPE” value = “FP”/>
Missed call based: <Tag name = “TYPE” value = “MCP”/>
Sound frequency based: <Tag name = “TYPE” value = “TONE”/>
4. The members will implement UPI number functionality through integration with UPI numeric ID mapper.
RBI Increases Limits for UPI Lite Wallet and Transactions to Boost Digital Payments
Other than the UPI 123Pay, the apex bank of India, RBI had raised the limit of UPI Lite wallet as well from ₹2,000 to ₹5,000 and each transaction limit from ₹500 to ₹1,000.
Acknowledging the impact of UPI on India’s financial landscape, the RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das had then said that the limits were raised because the rise and penetration of UPI has changed the country’s financial landscape, by making digital payments more accessible and inclusive through ongoing innovation. He also mentioned that these changes were done to further promote UPI adoption
