PPI Full Form: Wallet Limits, KYC, UPI Use and Fraud Refunds
Independent guide. We are not part of RBI, NPCI or any bank, and we never ask for your account details, PIN or OTP.
PPI stands for Prepaid Payment Instrument. It is a wallet or prepaid card that holds money you load in advance, for paying shops and bills and, if fully verified, sending money. Banks and RBI-authorised companies issue them. A small PPI holds up to ₹10,000; a full-KYC PPI up to ₹2 lakh. No interest is paid.
- Full form
- Prepaid Payment Instrument
- Regulated by
- RBI (Master Directions on PPIs)
- Main types
- Small PPI and full-KYC PPI
- Maximum balance
- ₹10,000 (small); ₹2 lakh (full-KYC)
- Interest on balance
- None
- Validity
- At least 1 year from your last top-up
- Fraud reported within 3 days
- Zero liability if the fault is elsewhere (non-bank wallets)
- Complaints
- Issuer first, then RBI Ombudsman
What is a PPI?
A PPI is any instrument that stores money you have paid in advance and lets you spend it. Common forms:
- Wallets in a mobile app or on a website.
- Prepaid cards, physical or virtual, that work like a debit card but draw on the loaded balance.
- Gift cards and metro or transit cards.
You can load a PPI from a bank account, a debit or credit card, another PPI, or with cash (cash is limited to ₹50,000 a month, within the PPI's overall limit). PPIs work only in rupees, pay no interest, and cannot be issued as paper vouchers.
Store-only cards are different. A card or balance usable only at the company that issued it, with no cash withdrawal, is a "closed system" PPI. RBI does not regulate or supervise these.
How a wallet works
Types of PPI
Opened with minimum details: a mobile number verified by OTP, plus your name and the number of one identity document, self-declared.
- Only for buying goods and services. No sending money and no cash withdrawal.
- Balance up to ₹10,000; loads up to ₹10,000 a month and ₹1.2 lakh a financial year.
- Two kinds: with cash loading (must be upgraded to full-KYC within 24 months, or no more money can be added; you can still spend the balance) and without cash loading (loaded only from a bank account, credit card or full-KYC PPI).
- Not usable with UPI or card networks at other issuers' shops.
Opened after full KYC, which can also be done by video (V-CIP).
- Balance up to ₹2 lakh at any time.
- Send money: up to ₹10,000 a month in general, or up to ₹2 lakh a month per pre-registered beneficiary. The issuer may set lower limits, and you can set your own caps.
- Withdraw cash: up to ₹2,000 a transaction and ₹10,000 a month.
- Must work with UPI (wallets) or card networks (cards), so you can pay at any shop that accepts them.
- Gift PPI: up to ₹10,000 each, not reloadable, no cash-out or transfer. With the holder's consent, money can go back to the account it was paid from. Can be revalidated on request.
- Transit card (PPI-MTS): for metro, buses, rail, waterways, tolls and parking. Up to ₹3,000 balance, no KYC needed, may never expire, but no refund, cash-out or transfer.
- Visitors to India: foreign nationals and NRIs visiting India can get a full-KYC UPI wallet after passport and visa checks, for paying merchants only (offered first to G-20 travellers at select airports).
PPI limits: small vs full-KYC
| Limit | Small PPI (cash loading) | Small PPI (no cash loading) | Full-KYC PPI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Balance at any time | ₹10,000 | ₹10,000 | ₹2,00,000 |
| Loading | ₹10,000 a month; ₹1,20,000 a year | ₹10,000 a month; ₹1,20,000 a year | No monthly cap within the balance limit |
| Cash loading | Yes | No | Yes, up to ₹50,000 a month |
| Spending | ₹10,000 a month | Within balance | Within balance |
| Send money | No | No | ₹10,000 a month; ₹2 lakh a month per pre-registered beneficiary |
| Cash withdrawal | No | No | ₹2,000 a time; ₹10,000 a month |
| Works with UPI / card networks | No | No | Yes (mandatory) |
| Time limit | Upgrade to full-KYC within 24 months | None | None |
RBI ceilings from the Master Directions on PPIs (updated 30 Sep 2026). Issuers may set lower limits. An issuer can give you only one of the three types; all your full-KYC PPIs with one issuer (wallets and cards together) share the ₹2 lakh limit. Gift and transit PPIs are counted separately.
KYC: what you need
- Small PPI: an OTP-verified mobile number and a self-declared name and number of an identity document, such as passport, driving licence, voter ID, NREGA job card, proof of possession of Aadhaar number or an NPR letter.
- Full-KYC PPI: full KYC under RBI's KYC rules, the same as for a bank account. Video KYC is allowed, both for new wallets and to upgrade a small one.
- A small PPI with cash loading can't be reissued to you on the same mobile number and details after its 24 months end, so upgrade it in time.
Using a wallet with UPI and cards
- Only full-KYC PPIs work across systems: wallets through UPI, cards through card networks. Small PPIs work only at the issuer's own merchants.
- In the issuer's own app, a UPI payment from your wallet uses your wallet login and authentication.
- An issuer may also let you link your full-KYC wallet in another UPI app; payments there use your UPI credentials.
- Refunds of failed or cancelled wallet payments go back to the wallet straight away, even if that takes it over its limit.
UPI Lite is not a wallet. It is a UPI feature that keeps a small balance on your phone, topped up from your bank account, with its own limits (₹1,000 a payment, ₹5,000 balance). Read about UPI Lite.
Who can issue a PPI?
- Banks, after RBI approval.
- Non-bank companies incorporated in India, after RBI authorisation. They need a net worth of at least ₹5 crore when applying and ₹15 crore by the end of their third financial year. RBI's list showed 52 non-bank PPI issuers when we checked on 31 Oct 2026, including the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation for its transit cards.
- The authorised company's name must be shown prominently with the wallet's brand name, so you can check it against RBI's list.
Before you load money, find the company behind the wallet in RBI's list of authorised payment system operators or banks permitted to issue prepaid cards.
Money taken without your permission
Non-bank issuers must send you a text alert for every payment, with a number or email to report fraud, and give you a 24×7 way to report it. Your loss is limited as below:
| Situation (non-bank PPI) | Your maximum loss |
|---|---|
| Fraud, negligence or fault of the issuer | Zero, even if you didn't report it |
| Fault elsewhere in the system; you report within 3 days of the alert | Zero |
| Same, reported in 4 to 7 days | The transaction amount or ₹10,000 per transaction, whichever is lower |
| Same, reported after 7 days | As per the issuer's board-approved policy |
| You shared your PIN, password or OTP | The entire loss until you report it; the issuer bears anything after |
- Days are counted from the day after you got the alert.
- The issuer must credit the disputed amount to your wallet within 10 days of your report, and settle the complaint within 90 days. If it can't decide in 90 days, it must pay you as per the table anyway.
- The issuer, not you, has to prove you are liable.
- Bank-issued PPIs follow RBI's rules for bank accounts and cards: zero liability if the fault is elsewhere and you report within 3 working days; after that, limits depend on the account type.
- You must register a mobile number for alerts to get this protection.
Lost money to a fraudster? Report it to the wallet issuer at once, and call 1930 or use the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal.
How to close a wallet and get your money back
- Open the wallet's settings or contact customer care and choose to close the PPI.
- Pick where the balance goes: the original source, or your own KYC-verified bank account. At closure you can give a different account from the one registered earlier.
- Confirm with your PIN or OTP, and keep the reference.
Expiry and unused wallets
- Every PPI is valid for at least one year from your last top-up. The issuer must warn you during the 45 days before it expires.
- A PPI with no transactions for a year is made inactive after a notice; it can be reactivated after checks.
- After expiry, a non-bank issuer can't treat your balance as its income for at least 3 years, and must refund it to your bank account whenever you ask.
- If an issuer winds up its wallet scheme or RBI stops it, you can redeem your balance.
Complaints
Complain to the issuer using the contact details on its app, website or card. It must give you a complaint number, start acting preferably within 48 hours, and try to resolve it within 30 days.
No reply in 30 days, or unhappy with it? Complain to the RBI Ombudsman under RB-IOS at cms.rbi.org.in, within 90 days. It covers banks and all non-bank PPI issuers, and is free.
You can also ask the issuer for a statement covering at least the past 6 months, which helps with any dispute. How to complain under RB-IOS.
History of PPI rules
RBI issues its policy guidelines for prepaid payment instruments.
A new category of PPI for mass transit systems is introduced.
RBI issues a Master Direction on issuing and operating PPIs.
Guidelines allow PPIs to work with other systems (interoperability).
Limited liability for unauthorised transactions in non-bank PPIs comes into effect.
Small PPI up to ₹10,000 loaded only from a bank account is introduced.
Interoperability made mandatory, full-KYC limit raised to ₹2 lakh, and cash withdrawal allowed from non-bank full-KYC PPIs.
RBI issues the current Master Directions on PPIs, last updated on 30 Sep 2026.
Deadline for all QR codes and PPI issuance to be interoperable.
FAQs
Is a wallet balance safe if the company shuts down?
A non-bank issuer must keep the full outstanding balance in an escrow account with a scheduled commercial bank, and you can redeem your balance if the scheme is wound up or stopped by RBI.
Do I earn interest on my wallet balance?
No. PPI issuers can't pay interest on PPI balances.
Why can't I send money from my wallet?
Your wallet is probably a small PPI, which is only for buying goods and services. Complete full KYC to send money and use it on UPI.
What happens to my small PPI after 24 months?
If it allows cash loading and isn't upgraded to full-KYC within 24 months, no more money can be added. You can still spend the balance, or move it out by closing the wallet.
Can I hold wallets with more than one company?
Yes. The limits apply per issuer: one issuer can give you only one of the three types, and it adds up all your full-KYC PPIs with it against the ₹2 lakh limit.
Can I use a wallet abroad?
Only a full-KYC PPI from an authorised dealer bank, for buying goods and services, if you ask for it: up to ₹10,000 a transaction and ₹50,000 a month. Sending money abroad from a PPI isn't allowed.
Is UPI Lite a PPI?
UPI Lite is a separate UPI feature: a small on-device balance topped up from your bank account, with its own limits.
Official sources
- RBI – Master Directions on Prepaid Payment Instruments (updated 30 Sep 2026) (accessed 31 Oct 2026)
- RBI – FAQs on Prepaid Payment Instruments (accessed 31 Oct 2026)
- RBI – Authorised payment system operators (non-bank PPI issuers) (accessed 31 Oct 2026)
- RBI – Banks permitted to issue prepaid cards (accessed 31 Oct 2026)
- RBI – Limiting liability of customers in unauthorised electronic banking transactions (6 Jul 2017) (accessed 31 Oct 2026)
- RBI – Reserve Bank – Integrated Ombudsman Scheme, 2026 (accessed 31 Oct 2026)
- Ministry of Home Affairs – National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (accessed 31 Oct 2026)
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