As the amount of fraud perpetrated through UPI by cybercriminals is huge, RBI has made the following changes for security reasons.

1. If you have installed UPI payment App like GPay, PhonePe, Paytm, Bhim... etc. in your phone and have not used the App even once during one year period from January to December 2023, then from January 1, 2024 that App will be blocked for security purposes. will be suspended for cause.

2. Payment Limit - Daily payment limit will be maximum Rs.1 lakh.

3. Special Payment Limit - Maximum Rs 5 Lakhs in one day to Hospitals and Educational Institutions only.

This means that now hospital or school college fees up to 5 lakh rupees can be paid through UPI.

4. Transaction Settlement Time - Settlement of amount above Rs.2,000/- will take four hours. RBI has made this very important change to prevent cyber crime. Till now, once the transaction was done, the money would be credited to the seller's account immediately.

If you have paid more than ₹ 2000 via UPI to any **new person, shop or online after January, it will take 4 hours for the amount to be credited to that seller's account.

5. UPI Transaction Cancellation Option - Henceforth UPI **You will be able to cancel the transaction within four hours after making the payment to a new person, shopkeeper or online, the payment of the canceled transaction will be reverted to the original account.

This will be of great use in recovering money stolen by cybercriminals, or in cases where money has been transferred to someone else's account by mistake, such payments can be recovered immediately.

But it also has a big disadvantage, if you **purchase more than 2000 rupees at a new place via UPI, the shopkeeper will deliver the item after four hours because he also knows that you can cancel the transaction within four hours, so he won't take the risk, also in the hotel. If you go out to eat and the bill exceeds 2000, the hotel owner won't accept UPI, you have to use debit or credit card like before.

6. Seller's real name will be displayed - Many times a number is saved in your mobile with a specific name, then the person changes his mobile number. A mobile company sells a number that has not been recharged/closed for six months to someone else. We pay to the number saved in our mobile but it goes to the wrong person. Or Truecaller shows a different name and the bank account has a different name.

Henceforth whatever the name of the SIM card, the name of the bank account will be displayed at the time of UPI payment.

7. UPI Credit Line - Payment through UPI requires balance in the bank, now you will be able to spend more than the balance by making a request to your bank.
Your bank will provide this facility (like Overdraft/CC) after checking your track record and CIB score.

8. UPI ATM - RBI has collaborated with Hitachi in Japan for this. Soon these ATM machines will be available everywhere. As cash can be withdrawn from ATMs by swapping debit/credit cards, similarly cash can be withdrawn by scanning the UPI QR code.

9. UPI Transaction Charges - If someone deposits money in UPI Wallet using UPI credit limit or through credit card (currently only Paytm has this facility) and makes a UPI payment through it, the merchant will have to pay 1.1% service charge.

Some new services are still being proposed, and after studying the difficulties in implementing the above UPI services, it is under consideration to apply these rules for online payments like NEFT, RTGS etc. Soon official announcements will be made on behalf of RBI.

Disclaimer: The opinions presented above are based on industry reports and linked news stories and are solely for informational purposes. CURA Property Services does not guarantee the information's accuracy, completeness, or reliability, and will not be held liable for any actions taken as a result of the information.

TCS in Foreign Remittance Transactions

When individuals transfer money abroad for purposes such as remittances, travel expenses, asset acquisitions, shopping, and investments, they may encounter a tax called Tax Collected at Source (TCS). While TCS for education and medical remittances remains at 5% for amounts exceeding ₹7 lakhs, the new 20% TCS rate will come into effect on 1 October 2023. Taxpayers can claim TCS deductions as refunds or credits when filing their income tax returns, which can help reduce their tax liabilities. In the 2023 Union Budget, the TCS rate for most remittances, except for those related to medical and educational expenses, increased from 5% to 20%. Effectively managing tax responsibilities in cross-border transactions requires a deep understanding of TCS. For education and medical expenses exceeding ₹7 lakhs, the TCS rate remains at 5%. The TCS rate has surged from 5% to 20% for all remittances, except those linked to education or medical treatment. This includes any funds sent abroad.