Sebi raises investment limit via UPI to Rs 5 lakh for retail investors

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Sebi on Tuesday increased the investment limit for payments through UPI mechanism for retail investors buying debt securities in public issues to Rs 5 lakh from Rs 2 lakh at present in its effort to bring ease of investment for investors.

The new framework will be applicable to public issues of debt securities which open on or after May 1, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) said in a circular.

The current Sebi rules provide an option to investors to apply in public issues of debt securities with the facility to block funds through UPI (unified payment interface) mechanism for application value of up to Rs 2 lakh.

Based on discussions with market participants and in order to bring uniformity in the requirements as well as for ease of investment for investors, Sebi has now decided to increase the limit for investment through UPI mechanism to Rs 5 lakh.

The investor may utilize the mechanism to block the funds for application value of up to Rs 5 lakh per application.

UPI is an instant payment system developed by the National Payments Corporation of India(NPCI). It allows instant transfer of money between any two individuals' bank accounts using a payment.

In December 2021, NPCI had enhanced the per transaction limit in UPI from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 5 lakh for UPI-based Application Supported by Blocked Amount (ASBA) Initial Public Offer (IPO).