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World desk3 min

India Postpones Proposed UPI Merchant Fee Until After Diwali

NPCI has delayed the proposed merchant-side UPI MDR until after Diwali. No new date has been announced; reported rates and exemptions remain proposed terms.
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NPCI has postponed the proposed Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on some Unified Payments Interface (UPI) payments made to merchants. The rollout had been scheduled for 15 October 2026; NPCI now says it will happen after Diwali, with a new date to be announced separately. This is a delay, not a reported cancellation, and the reported fee terms remain proposed rather than charges already in effect. Mint reported the postponement on 13 October 2026.

What has changed?

Only the timing has changed in the available reporting. NPCI managing director and chief executive Dilip Asbe told Mint: “We have deferred the rollout until after Diwali. The final date will be announced soon.” No exact post-Diwali implementation date is established in the cited reporting, so a specific start date should not be assumed.

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NPCI’s reported reason for the delay was the festive season. Mint also cited pushback from trade bodies and concern that a fee could dampen festive spending; these are reported considerations, not a formal, exhaustive explanation from NPCI.

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What fee was proposed, and which transactions could it cover?

MDR means Merchant Discount Rate. It is a merchant-side fee, not a fee charged to a person making a UPI payment. Mint reported these proposed terms for eligible person-to-merchant (P2M) transactions:

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  • Standard rate: 0.4% on eligible transactions above ₹2,000.
  • Cap: A maximum of ₹300 for transactions of ₹75,000 and above.
  • Reported exemptions: Person-to-person (P2P) transfers, merchant payments up to ₹2,000, and small merchants whose monthly UPI transactions are up to ₹1 lakh.

These figures and exemptions describe the proposal as reported by Mint; they do not establish that the fee has started or that the terms will remain unchanged when NPCI announces a date. Mint’s report on the proposed rates and thresholds is the source for those details.

Will customers be charged for UPI after Diwali?

The government has said consumers would not face UPI transaction charges and that P2P transactions would remain free. The proposed MDR is described as applying to specified merchant transactions, with the merchant—not the customer—paying the fee. That distinction matters: paying a shop by UPI is P2M, while sending money to another person is P2P.

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In an 8 August 2026 statement, the Ministry of Finance described the amendment to the Payment and Settlement Systems Act as enabling sustainability, technological advancement and resilience. It said the vast majority of merchant transactions would remain free and that there would be no charges for consumers or P2P transactions. It also said NPCI’s UPI and Services Steering Committee would decide on MDR after Parliament passed the relevant bill. Read the Ministry of Finance statement.

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How to tell whether a payment fits the reported proposal

  1. Check who receives the payment. A transfer to another person is P2P and was reported as exempt. A payment to a merchant is P2M and may need further checking.
  2. Check the transaction amount. Merchant payments up to ₹2,000 were reported as exempt. The proposed standard rate was reported for eligible payments above ₹2,000.
  3. For a merchant, check monthly UPI volume. Small merchants with monthly UPI transactions up to ₹1 lakh were reported as exempt.
  4. Check for an updated official notice. The precise start date and final terms are not established by the cited reporting. A later NPCI notification may set or revise them.

A payment exceeding ₹2,000 does not by itself establish that a merchant will be charged: the payment must fall within the final covered category, and the reported small-merchant exemption and any updated terms also matter.

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Why the policy is drawing attention

The Ministry of Finance reported that UPI processed 2,366 crore transactions worth ₹29.9 lakh crore in July 2026. Its statement also said UPI was live in 11 foreign countries. Those figures help explain why the cost and sustainability of the payment system are policy questions, while the government’s stated position is that most merchant transactions will remain free and consumers will not be charged.

The Department of Financial Services lists an FAQ titled “MDR on select UPI P2M transactions,” dated 15 September 2026. The page confirms the FAQ’s title and date, but does not reproduce its text; its detailed contents therefore cannot be used here to confirm or extend Mint’s reported rate terms. Department of Financial Services.

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