India ends free ride for larger transactions on its ubiquitous digital payments network

India has finally put a price on larger transactions on its ubiquitous digital payments network, ending years of free processing for merchants as authorities seek to make a system used for billions of payments each month financially self-sustaining.

The country’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) will impose a 0.4% merchant fee on certain payments above ₹2,000 (about $21) from October 15, the National Payments Corporation of India, which operates the network, said on Tuesday. Consumers will continue to use the service for free, NPCI said.

Credit card merchant fees typically range from 1.5% to 2.5% per transaction, while debit card fees are capped at 0.9%, according to an FAQ (PDF) released by NPCI.