Govt to impose UPI payment charges after Diwali:Move to provide relief to shopkeepers amid festive season

The government will implement UPI charges or the Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) post-Diwali after its original plan to roll it out from 15 October was deferred, the NPCI said on Tuesday, 13 October, 2026. Shopkeepers and payment companies have been exempted owing to the festive season. The UPI transactions will remain free for shopkeepers for now. The government has extended the implementation date of the 0.4% merchant fee to avoid additional burden on merchants during the festive season. UPI and Services Steering Committee today decided that, keeping in mind the festive season, Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on select Person-to-Merchant (P2M) UPI transactions shall be implemented immediately post Diwali on a date to be notified separately. -NPCI said in a statement on Tuesday. The MDR has to be paid by merchants, not consumers and capped at ₹300 for transactions of ₹75,000 or more. Did you know? Govt already levies MDR on credit debit card transactions: According to Harsh Vardhan Masta, chief executive officer of PB Pay, the payments platform of PB Fintech, MDR on credit card transactions can range from 1.5% to 3% of the transaction amount, depending on the card network, with no ceiling. While for debit cards, it ranges from 0.4% to 0.90% with no upper limit. This is a developing story. Stay tuned for the latest news updates