RBI raises UPI payment limits for hospitals to Rs 5 lakh

The  Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced on Friday an increase in the UPI payment limit to hospitals and educational institutions from the existing Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 lakh. The cap for e-mandates for recurring payments has also been raised to Rs 1 lakh, as part of the December bi-monthly monetary policy.

Governor Shaktikanta Das stated that the UPI transaction limit for payments to hospitals and educational institutions has been revised to facilitate transactions of higher amounts for education and healthcare purposes.

The e-mandate framework, which requires additional authentication for recurring transactions exceeding Rs 15,000, will now see an enhanced limit of Rs 1 lakh per transaction. This adjustment is expected to boost the adoption of e-mandates for mutual fund subscriptions, insurance premium subscriptions, and credit card repayments.

Governor Das highlighted the popularity of e-mandates for making payments of a recurring nature among customers. The increased limits are aimed at providing consumers with more flexibility and convenience in their financial transactions.

In addition to these changes, the RBI disclosed plans to establish a "Fintech Repository" to gain a better understanding of developments in the fintech ecosystem and support the sector. 

"This will be operationalised by the Reserve Bank Innovation Hub in April 2024 or earlier. FinTechs would be encouraged to provide relevant information voluntarily to this Repository," Das said. 

Governor Das also revealed that the RBI is actively working on the creation of a cloud facility for the financial sector in India. With an increasing volume of data being managed by banks and financial entities, the cloud facility is intended to enhance data security, integrity, and privacy. The phased rollout over the medium term aims to bring better scalability and business continuity to the financial sector.

(With PTI inputs)