Individuals to use UPI for bids up to Rs 5 lakh in IPO: SEBI 

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has revised upwards the size of bids that retail investors can submit in an initial public offer (IPO) using Unified Payment Interface (UPI). 

In a circular issued on Tuesday, the capital markets regulator increased the limit from the current Rs 2 lakh to Rs 5 lakh. 

“… it has been decided that all Individual Investors applying in Public Issues where the application amount is up to 5 Lakhs shall use UPI and shall also provide their UPI ID in the bid-cum-application form,” stated the SEBI circular. 

The SEBI move comes nearly four months after the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) enhanced the per transaction limit in UPI from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 5 lakh for UPI-based Application Supported by Blocked Amount (ASBA) in IPOs. 

SEBI had enabled the use of UPI to bid for IPOs in November 2018 – a move that came into effect from July 1, 2019. 

Meanwhile, the SEBI circular highlighted the fact that NPCI has reviewed the systemic readiness for processing the increased UPI limit and confirmed that more than 80 per cent of the intermediaries have put in place the required changes. 

The increased limit will come into effect for all IPOs that open on or after May 1.