UPI Daily Limit Increased for Indian Expats in UAE
Indian expats in the UAE just received a major boost in how they can manage their finances back home. The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has officially raised UPI daily transaction limits for high-value payments, effective September 15, 2025.
From paying EMIs and insurance premiums to investing in markets and buying jewellery, UPI is now a much stronger tool for cross-border financial management.
What’s New in UPI Limits?
Here’s a breakdown of the updated transaction caps for different categories:
- Capital markets & insurance premiums
- Per transaction: Rs5 lakh (up from Rs2 lakh)
- Daily limit: Rs10 lakh
- Government e-Marketplace, travel bookings, loan repayments, EMIs
- Daily ceiling: Rs10 lakh
- Credit card bills
- Single payment: up to Rs5 lakh
- Daily cap: Rs6 lakh
- Jewellery purchases
- Per transaction: Rs2 lakh
- Daily ceiling: Rs6 lakh
- Hospitals & education payments
- Per transaction: Rs5 lakh
- Daily limit: Rs1 million
- Government securities & RBI direct investments
- Daily cap: Rs1 million
Note: Person-to-person (P2P) transfers remain capped at Rs1 lakh per day.
UPI Growth at Record Highs
UPI adoption continues to skyrocket:
- 20 billion transactions in August 2025 (up 34% year-on-year)
- Transaction value reached Rs24.85 trillion (up 21% YoY)
- Daily averages: 645 million transactions worth Rs801.77 billion
Popular apps like PhonePe and Google Pay continue to lead the market.
Stronger Fraud Protection
With higher limits, comes stronger security. From October 1, 2025, NPCI will:
- Remove the P2P “collect request” feature, often exploited in scams.
- Apply new high-value limits only to verified merchants, reducing fraud risks.
This ensures safer payments for users handling larger transactions.
What It Means for Indian Expats in UAE
For over 3.5 million Indians living in the UAE, these changes bring huge convenience:
- Instant settlement of EMIs and insurance premiums
- Seamless investment transfers to Indian accounts
- Easier payments for gold, jewellery, and travel bookings
- Reduced fraud risk with merchant verification
In short, UPI is no longer just for small daily payments—it’s now a powerful financial platform for managing cross-border money matters.
