RBI Increases UPI Lite Transaction Limit to Rs 1,000

On Wednesday, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) raised the wallet limit to Rs 5,000 and the per transaction limit to Rs 1,000 in 'UPI Lite', with the goal of promoting the extensive use of instant payment systems.

UPI Lite transactions are offline in that they do not need an 'Additional Factor of Authentication' (AFA). Additionally, transaction alerts are not sent immediately.

The RBI has increased the per transaction limit through UPI Lite from Rs 500 to Rs 1,000. As a result, users can now perform offline transactions up to Rs 1,000 in a single go.

Offline payments refer to transactions that can be completed without requiring internet or telecom connectivity on a mobile device. According to an RBI circular, the enhanced limit for UPI Lite will be Rs 1,000 per transaction, with a maximum cap of Rs 5,000 at any point in time.

Currently, the maximum amount for an offline payment transaction is Rs 500. Consequently, the overall limit for offline transactions on any payment instrument at any given time is Rs 2,000.

The Reserve Bank updated the 'Offline Framework' guidelines from January 2022 to assist small-value digital payments in offline transactions. The central bank announced an increase in the limit for offline UPI Lite payments in October this year.