NPCI Introduces 0.4% Fee on High-Value UPI Transactions
The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) will implement a 0.4% merchant discount rate (MDR) on Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions exceeding Rs2,000 ($20.8). The fee is set to take effect from October 15 and follows recent legislative changes authorizing such charges for high-value UPI payments. The MDR will not be passed directly onto consumers but instead borne by merchants. Different merchant categories face varying fees: a flat Rs5 charge applies to sectors like railways, telecoms, insurance, and fuel; general merchants above Rs75,000 ($782) are capped at Rs300 per transaction. Capital market transactions will incur 0.02%, also capped at Rs300. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) supports the move, stating it promotes long-term sustainability and growth in digital payments by enabling investment in technology and infrastructure.
Topics: India's Digital Payment System MDR NPCI UPI