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Freedom251 › Blog › Digital Payments

How UPI Charges Work for Customers and Merchants in India (2026)

By Freedom251 Team · · 3 min read

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For individuals, UPI transfers remain free; customers are not charged for merchant UPI payments under the Ministry of Finance’s stated framework. The Ministry’s 15 September 2026 release specifies merchant-side MDR for certain purchases above ₹2,000, with zero-MDR rules for qualifying small merchants and different rates for named sectors. It says banks have been advised to ensure merchants do not pass MDR on to customers.

What the stated UPI charges mean for customers

The applicable treatment depends on whether money moves between individuals or a customer pays a merchant. The Ministry of Finance’s 15 September 2026 release says individuals pay no transaction, platform or other charge for sending or receiving UPI money, and that person-to-person transfers remain free regardless of amount. For person-to-merchant payments up to ₹2,000, it says there is no MDR and no customer UPI charge. Ministry of Finance, 15 September 2026

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The ₹2,000 threshold concerns the stated MDR treatment for merchant payments; it is not a general UPI transfer limit. The release also says banks have been advised to prevent merchants from passing MDR to customers, and app providers are prohibited under the described framework from imposing platform fees or hidden charges.

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Merchant MDR rates and who they apply to

MDR, or merchant discount rate, is a merchant-side fee associated with accepting a payment. The Ministry says it is distributed among banks, payment service providers and UPI application providers, and is neither a tax nor money collected by the Government or NPCI. The schedule below reflects the rates and conditions stated in the 15 September release; it does not establish a separate charge payable by the customer.

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Payment or merchant category Treatment stated by the Ministry
Person-to-person transfer, any amount Free for individuals sending and receiving money.
Person-to-merchant payment up to ₹2,000 No MDR; no customer UPI charge.
Qualifying P2PM merchant receiving up to ₹1 lakh per month through UPI QR codes Zero MDR on all transactions. Both the P2PM category and monthly-receipts condition apply.
Specified P2M transaction above ₹2,000 0.4% MDR, capped at ₹300 for transactions of ₹75,000 and above.
Above-₹2,000 transactions in railways, telecommunications, insurance, fuel or agricultural inputs Flat ₹5 MDR.
Capital-market payments relating to mutual funds, securities, stockbrokers or dealers 0.02% MDR, capped at ₹300. This rate is stated for the named capital-market payments, not all financial services.

The Ministry’s small-merchant condition is specific: merchants, including street vendors, receiving up to ₹1 lakh per month through UPI QR codes under the P2PM category have zero MDR on all transactions. It should not be generalized to every shop described casually as “small.”

Does a customer pay MDR on a UPI purchase?

Under the government-stated framework, MDR is paid on the merchant side, not charged to the customer as a UPI fee. The Ministry says banks have been advised to ensure merchants do not pass it on, and that app providers cannot add platform fees or hidden charges under the framework. A merchant’s other commercial terms or a payment provider’s contracted services are separate matters; the stated MDR rate alone does not establish the full pricing of a provider’s service.

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How many merchant payments are affected?

The Ministry estimates that roughly 96% of P2M transactions remain unaffected because they are below ₹2,000 or covered by the zero-MDR small-merchant framework; it expects about 4% to attract MDR. These are government-reported estimates, not independent measurements. The release also says P2P represents 70% of total transaction value, which it uses to describe activity outside the MDR framework. Ministry of Finance, 15 September 2026

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What changed in the government’s announcements?

The 8 August 2026 Ministry announcement described a proposed legal change as enabling the UPI and Services Steering Committee, headed by NPCI, to decide MDR, if any, after passage of the proposed Taxation and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026. It reaffirmed that consumers would not face transaction charges. Ministry of Finance, 8 August 2026

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The later 15 September release gives the specific thresholds, merchant conditions, sector rates and customer protections shown above, describing the framework as introduced under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007, after UPI Steering Committee deliberations. The accessible official releases do not establish the exact operational commencement date or identify the operative NPCI circular or order. Accordingly, the schedule here is the current official government-stated framework as of 4 October 2026, not a claim about a particular launch date.

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UPI wallet payments and prepaid instruments

NPCI’s UPI FAQ says a full-KYC prepaid payment instrument (PPI) holder can pay and receive through UPI, and says customers are not charged for PPI-on-UPI transactions or for receiving funds through PPI-on-UPI. NPCI, UPI Frequently Asked Questions The available FAQ information does not establish merchant-side pricing for every PPI route, so it does not support assuming that all wallet-funded merchant payments have the same MDR treatment as bank-account-funded payments.

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