Banking & Savings · 6 min read
UPI limits and charges: what you can actually send, and what it costs
Daily caps, per-transaction limits, the higher limits for specific categories, and the one place UPI genuinely does cost you money.
Krish Dalal
Founder and editor, PaisaExpert. Master's in Business Management, London. · Last updated 2026-08-21
UPI limits confuse people because there are three separate ceilings operating at once: the NPCI ceiling for the category, your bank's own limit, and the app's limit. The one that binds you is always the lowest of the three, which is why two people on the same app can have different limits.
The limits that usually apply
| Type of payment | Typical cap | Set by |
|---|---|---|
| Everyday person to person | ₹1,00,000 a day | NPCI, often lower at your bank |
| Number of transactions | Commonly 10 to 20 a day | Your bank |
| New payee, first 24 hours | Often ₹5,000 | Your bank |
| Capital markets, insurance, travel | Higher category cap | NPCI category rules |
| Tax payments | Higher category cap | NPCI category rules |
| UPI Lite, small offline payments | Small per-payment cap, no PIN | NPCI |
Because banks set their own limits inside the NPCI ceiling and revise them periodically, the number your bank applies today is the one that matters. It is shown in your banking app under UPI settings, and it is worth checking before you try to pay a large bill at a counter rather than discovering it there.
Frequently asked
What to do next
- Check your own bank's UPI limit in the app before you need it at a counter.
- Audit your UPI autopay mandates, since they are the easiest recurring payment to forget.
- If a payment fails and money is debited, raise it in the app the same day.