STARTUP/TECHNOLOGY
UPI’s New MDR: Cost For Merchants, But No Charge For Customers Seen
With Unified Payments Interface (UPI) processing 24 billion transactions worth about $311 billion in August 2026, the new Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) framework marks a significant change in the economics of India’s largest digital payment network, although the immediate impact on consumers is expected to be limited because the customer-facing UPI transaction remains free. What […]
Sajan C Kumar
·
Sep 16, 2026
STARTUP/TECHNOLOGY
UPI To Remain Free For P2P Transfers, 96% Of Merchant Transactions: Govt
The new Unified Payments Interface (UPI) framework will have no impact on person-to-person transactions, with all P2P UPI payments continuing to remain completely free irrespective of the amount transferred. The framework will also keep merchant payments up to ₹2,000 free of Merchant Discount Rate (MDR). Transactions covered under the zero-MDR framework for small merchants will […]
CW Bureau
·
Sep 15, 2026
ECONOMY
India’s Fintech Journey Enters Next Phase As UPI Becomes Cornerstone
India’s fintech story has moved well beyond digital payments, with the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) emerging as a cornerstone of the country’s digital economy and financial inclusion. The next phase, however, will require the industry to extend the same scale and simplicity to credit, insurance, savings, investments and pensions. The evolution of India’s fintech ecosystem […]
CW Bureau
·
Sep 9, 2026
BANKING & FINANCE
UPI Turns 10: How It Scaled From 1.78 Crore To 24,162 Crore Transactions
The Unified Payments Interface (UPI), launched on August 25, 2016 by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) under the regulatory oversight of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), completes a decade of transforming the way India makes payments. What started as a digital payments platform has evolved into the backbone of India’s digital payments […]
CW Bureau
·
Aug 24, 2026
