No page we checked says that collecting event fees on a personal UPI ID is explicitly illegal. We also found no RBI or NPCI text that bans it outright [1]. The real problem is the grey zone. The money lands in a personal account, mixes with personal records, and can run into payment aggregator rules, daily limits and tax reporting. For a club or fest, the safer route is a bank account in the name of the organising body, paid through a regulated checkout.
What the rules settle, and what they do not
Person-to-person UPI collect requests are finished. NPCI circular NPCI/UPI/OC/220/2025-26, dated 29 July 2025, ended P2P collect requests from 1 October 2025. Banks, PSPs and UPI apps must block their initiation, routing or processing [2]. Some small shopkeepers had used these requests through personal bank accounts before the change [3]. Merchant collect requests remain operational, so the ban covers only person-to-person flows [4].
Payers can still pay. They can scan a QR code, tap a UPI link or enter the UPI ID [5]. So the question is not whether a student can receive money on a personal ID. The question is whether that setup suits collecting fees from many strangers for an event.
Here the rules get less clear. RBI's Payment Aggregator Directions, 2025, define a payment aggregator as an entity that aggregates customer payments to merchants and then settles the collected funds to those merchants [6]. Non-bank aggregators must hold merchant funds in a separate escrow account with a scheduled commercial bank, and they must file audit certificates with RBI [7]. A startup guide says that an e-commerce marketplace collecting money for third-party sellers is doing payment-aggregator business. Selling one's own goods or services is not aggregation [8].
We found no primary source that decides whether a student group collecting fees for itself, or for a college, counts as aggregation. Our reading, which is unsourced, is that the answer turns on whether the money passes through the collector's account to a third party. A club should check that with a bank or a lawyer before relying on it.
Daily limits and bank monitoring
UPI limits are the most practical problem, and the sources disagree on the numbers. One guide says NPCI's baseline is ₹1 lakh per day for P2P and P2M alike [9]. The same guide says verified merchants in eligible sectors such as education can reach a ₹10 lakh daily limit after KYC [9]. Another 2026 guide says daily limits generally remain ₹1 lakh, with higher limits only for select categories [9]. Treat any single figure as something to confirm with your bank.
| Item | What the sources say | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Baseline daily UPI limit | ₹1 lakh per day for P2P and P2M | [9] |
| Verified merchants in education | Up to ₹10 lakh daily after KYC, per one source | [9] |
| Bank monitoring | Banks may set lower limits on a personal account and may flag sudden merchant-style receipts | [10] |
Take a hypothetical event. Say 300 people buy a ₹300 ticket on one day. That is ₹90,000, which fits under the ₹1 lakh baseline. Now say a fest sells to 1,200 buyers at ₹300 each on one day. That comes to ₹3,60,000, well above the baseline. A personal account receiving that many merchant-style payments at once is the kind of account a bank may flag [10].
Tax reporting and cash thresholds
Banks report aggregate cash deposits above ₹10 lakh a year in savings accounts, and above ₹50 lakh a year in current accounts, through the Statement of Financial Transactions [12]. Those thresholds are framed around cash deposits, not UPI credits [12]. A UPI-only fee collection does not automatically trigger that report.
The tax risk is different. A tax blog says the department compares bank transactions with declared income, and a gap can prompt a notice. It also says business receipts must be declared under business or profession income [11]. A fee pool that sits in a personal account and is never declared as event income is exactly the kind of gap that comparison looks for.
The framework is also shifting. A tax site says the Income Tax Act 2025 and the Draft Income Tax Rules 2026 reset savings-account reporting from 1 April 2026. Other sources still cite Rule 114E of the 1961 Act, and the sources differ on which framework governs [13]. One tax blog also says a cash receipt above ₹2 lakh is barred under Section 269ST. The limit applies per person, per day, per transaction or per event [12]. That rule concerns cash, so a UPI-only setup avoids it. Any cash collected at the venue does not.
How paid tickets work on Unifesto
On Unifesto, paid tickets go through Razorpay checkout. Payouts go to the Space's verified bank account. The money belongs to the club, fest team or institution, not to one member's UPI ID. Refunds need approval before money moves. Each event shows the collected amount, fees, refunds and net, with CSV export. Events, people, money and history stay with the Space when the team changes, so the next committee inherits the records.
The money then has a documented path from payer to Space to verified bank account. That is the setup we would point you to if you are running a paid event on Unifesto for your Space.
If your event is free, the answer is simpler. Google Forms can work for small free events. For paid tickets, team registration and QR check-in, our comparison of Google Forms and Unifesto sets out the fees and gaps.
Our view
Our view: a club or fest should not collect event fees on a member's personal UPI ID. Open a current account or use a verified organiser account in the name of the organising body. Then use a checkout that keeps payment records. The cost of setting this up is small next to the cost of a frozen account or an unexplained tax notice.
Where this advice is limited
We are not lawyers, and nothing we found settles the aggregator question. We have no primary source that decides whether a student group collecting fees for itself, or for a college, falls under RBI's 2025 Directions. The UPI limit figures conflict between sources. We also cannot tell you whether your college allows its clubs to take payments at all. Unifesto cannot answer that for you either. Our platform fee per paid ticket is set on our pricing page, not here.
FAQ
Is it illegal to receive event payments on a personal UPI ID?
We found no RBI or NPCI text that explicitly bans it. The risk lies in aggregation rules, daily limits, bank monitoring and tax reporting, which makes it a poor setup for a club or fest.
Can students still collect money by UPI after the P2P collect ban?
Yes. The NPCI change ended person-to-person collect requests, but payers can still scan a QR code, tap a UPI link or enter a UPI ID. Merchant collect requests also remain.
What daily UPI limit should a fest plan around?
Plan around the ₹1 lakh baseline unless your bank confirms a higher limit for your account. Sources disagree on the higher figures for verified merchants, so check with your bank before relying on them.
Does UPI-only collection trigger cash-deposit reporting?
The Statement of Financial Transactions thresholds are framed around cash deposits, not UPI credits. The tax risk still applies, because unexplained receipts can prompt a notice if they are not declared as event income.
Sources
- UPI Payments for Business India 2026: https://quotationmaker.in/blog/upi-qr-payments-for-business
- NPCI - Discontinuing the Service of UPI Collect Request for Person to Person (P2P) Transactions: https://complinity.com/legal-update/iscontinuing-the-ervice-of-ollect-equest-for-erson-to-erson-2-ransactions-19705/
- NPCI to tighten UPI rules: Peer to peer collect feature to end in October - BusinessToday: https://www.businesstoday.in/personal-finance/banking/story/npci-to-tighten-upi-rules-peer-to-peer-collect-feature-to-end-in-october-489244-2025-08-13
- NPCI To End UPI Person To Person Collect Requests From October To Curb Fraud: https://www.angelone.in/news/market-updates/npci-to-end-upi-person-to-person-collect-requests-from-october-to-curb-fraud
- UPI collect requests are gone: how to ask someone to pay you now: https://withupi.com/blog/upi-collect-requests-are-gone-how-to-ask-someone-to-pay-you-now
- भारतीय ǐरज़वर् बैंक RESERVE BANK OF INDIA www.rbi.org.in RBI/DPSS/2025-26/141: https://www.fidcindia.org.in/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/RBI-PAYMENT-AGGREGATORS-DIRECTIONS-15-09-25.pdf
- RBI's New Payment Aggregator Rules: Rs 15 Cr Minimum Net Worth: https://www.medianama.com/2025/09/223-explained-rbi-master-direction-payment-aggregators/
- RBI Payment Aggregator Guidelines: A Guide for Startups: https://www.drema.in/blog/rbi-payment-aggregator-guidelines-startups
- UPI Transaction Limit: Daily Limits, Bank Variations & How to Increase: https://business.phonepe.com/articles/whats-the-upi-limit-complete-guide-to-daily-transaction-caps-for-businesses
- How to Accept UPI Payments on Your Business Website: https://neweb.ai/pages/guides/how-to-accept-upi-payments-website
- Using a Personal Savings Account for Business Income in India: Is It Risky?, Sudhir Rao: https://sudhirrao.com/insights/using-personal-savings-account-for-business-income-in-india-is-it-risky
- Cash Deposits and Income Tax Scrutiny: SFT Thresholds: https://taxgarden.in/blog/cash-deposits-income-tax-scrutiny-sft-reporting-india
- Savings Bank Accounts Under New Income Tax Rules 2026: Annual Limits Replace Daily Caps: https://www.taxscan.in/top-stories/savings-bank-accounts-under-new-income-tax-rules-2026-annual-limits-replace-daily-caps-1445157