In a move that will boost the use of contactless payments, the Reserve Bank of India has proposed to increase the limit for contactless card payments to ₹5,000, from ₹2,000.

“To further the adoption of digital payments in a safe and secure manner, it is proposed to enhance, at the discretion of the user, the limits for contactless card transactions and e-mandates for recurring transactions through cards (and UPI) from ₹2,000 to ₹5,000 from January 1, 2021,” said the Statement on Developmental and Regulatory Policies of the RBI on Friday.

Contactless card transactions and e-mandates on cards (and UPI) for recurring transactions have enhanced customer convenience in general while benefitting from increased use of technology, it further noted, adding that these are also well-suited to make payments in a safe and secure manner, especially during the current pandemic.

The RBI also proposed to allow settlement files of payment systems (viz., AePS, IMPS, NETC, NFS, RuPay, UPI) to be posted to the Reserve Bank on all days of the year given the round-the-clock availability of eKuber (core banking system of RBI) and RTGS (to be operationalised soon).

“The RTGS system will soon be made 24x7. With this, it is proposed to reduce settlement and default risk in the system by facilitating settlement of AePS, IMPS, NETC, NFS, RuPay, UPI transactions on all days of the week,” RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said, adding that this will make the payments ecosystem more efficient.