UPI transaction limits are not one universal number. A payment can be restricted by the transaction type, merchant category, your bank, the recipient’s bank, the UPI app, a new-user cooling period or a risk control. This is why two users can see different limits in the same app.
Quick answer: Person-to-person UPI transfers remain capped at ₹1 lakh per transaction. Eligible person-to-merchant categories may support higher limits. Your bank or app can still set a lower per-payment or daily cap, so the limit shown in your own payment flow is the one that matters.
UPI transaction limits at a glance
| Payment type | System-level position | Important condition |
|---|---|---|
| Person to person (P2P) | Up to ₹1 lakh | Banks may set a lower operational limit. |
| Regular merchant payments | Category-dependent | The merchant must be correctly classified and enabled. |
| Selected higher-value merchant categories | May be up to ₹2 lakh or ₹5 lakh | Examples include eligible capital-market, collection, insurance, medical, education, IPO, Retail Direct and tax use cases. |
Do not assume that every payment to a hospital, school, broker or government portal will automatically receive the maximum. The bank, app, merchant category code and receiving setup must all support it.
Per-transaction limit versus daily limit
A per-transaction limit is the most you can send in one payment. A daily limit can count the total value or number of UPI payments over a bank-defined period. Some banks use a calendar day; others may apply a rolling window or an additional cooling period for a newly registered device.
Splitting one large payment into smaller transfers may still fail if the daily value or transaction-count limit has been reached. It can also trigger bank risk controls.
Why UPI says “limit exceeded” below ₹1 lakh
- Your bank has a lower daily or per-transaction cap.
- You already used part of the daily limit.
- The bank counts the number of UPI transactions as well as their value.
- The account or device was newly registered and is under a cooling-period limit.
- The recipient bank or merchant setup has a lower acceptance limit.
- The payment app has applied a risk or velocity control.
What to do after a limit error
- Check the linked bank account and the amount already sent that day.
- Read the exact error instead of repeatedly retrying.
- Check the bank’s official UPI limit page or contact the bank.
- If the payment is urgent, use NEFT, RTGS, IMPS, a card or another appropriate method rather than trying to bypass a security control.
- For a merchant payment, ask whether the merchant supports the relevant higher-value UPI category.
Using another UPI app with the same bank account usually does not remove a bank-level limit. A second bank account may have a separate limit, but only use it if the payment and recipient are verified.
Do failed UPI transactions consume the limit?
Banks can handle failed attempts and limit counters differently. A failed payment may temporarily affect the available count or value until systems reconcile. If a legitimate payment still fails after the expected reset, ask the bank to confirm both the monetary and transaction-count limits.
Frequently asked questions
Can I send ₹1 lakh twice in one day?
Not necessarily. The system cap and your bank’s daily cap are separate. Your bank may prevent the second transfer.
Do Google Pay, PhonePe, Paytm and BHIM have the same limit?
They all use UPI, but the effective limit can differ because the linked bank, app controls, merchant category and account status also matter.
Is UPI Lite included?
UPI Lite has its own small-value wallet and per-transaction rules, so do not apply regular account-to-account UPI limits to it.
Official sources
- NPCI UPI product information
- RBI: higher limits for specified categories
- RBI Annual Report: UPI limit updates
Limits change and banks may apply lower caps. Confirm the current limit with your bank before a time-sensitive high-value payment.
