Payment rails
Per-payment ceiling
Maximum amount accepted for a single payment, set by the scheme or by the receiving institution.
Two ceilings stack and are often confused. The scheme ceiling is set by the rail operator. The institution ceiling is set by the beneficiary’s bank, and is frequently much lower, particularly on lightly verified electronic money accounts.
Exceeding one produces a rejection, not a loss: funds come back after a delay. On the sending side that rejection is often silent — the transfer leaves, the destination refuses it. Checking your own ceiling with your bank before a large payout is the only way to avoid it.