UPI Charges From October 15: 10 Things Every User Should Know Before Paying Online

For years, UPI has meant one simple thing for Indians: scan a QR code, enter the PIN and pay. There was no separate charge staring back at the customer. That is set to change for a limited set of merchant transactions from October 15, 2026.The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has introduced a Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) of 0.4 per cent on certain person-to-merchant UPI payments above Rs 2,000. The charge will be capped at Rs 300 for transactions of Rs 75,000 and above. But there is an important detail that can easily get lost in the headlines. The customer is not being charged.The new MDR is a charge within the merchant payments ecosystem. Person-to-person payments remain free, while small merchants meeting the specified monthly UPI receipt threshold also remain protected. Here are the key questions UPI users and merchants are likely to have.1.