New Delhi: Amid growing discussions around the future of merchant charges on Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions, the Payments Council of India (PCI) on Friday clarified that consumers will continue to use UPI free of cost and small merchants will not be charged for accepting payments through the platform.
In a post on social media platform X, the industry body said UPI has remained free for consumers since its launch in 2016 and there is no proposal to levy transaction charges on individuals using the platform.
It added that UPI was designed to make digital payments accessible to all sections of society and continues to play a key role in India’s digital payments ecosystem.
“UPI has always been free for consumers since its launch in 2016. Every Indian can continue making instant digital payments without paying any transaction charges,” it said.
The clarification comes amid renewed discussions on the sustainability of operating the country’s rapidly expanding digital payments infrastructure.
PCI said the debate is not about charging consumers but about ensuring long-term support for an ecosystem that now processes billions of transactions every month.
According to the industry body, small merchants are not required to pay charges for accepting UPI payments and protecting such businesses remains central to the platform’s inclusive growth strategy.
UPI has enabled millions of small businesses across the country to accept digital payments without the cost barriers traditionally associated with electronic transactions.
“Small merchants are not required to pay any charges (MDR) to accept UPI payments. UPI was designed to make digital payments accessible for even the smallest businesses across India, and protecting small merchants remains central to the ecosystem’s inclusive growth,” it added.
PCI noted that UPI has evolved from a new payment platform into the world’s largest real-time payment system, resulting in increasing requirements for technology upgrades, cybersecurity, fraud prevention and operational resilience.
As transaction volumes continue to rise, discussions are underway on how to sustainably support the infrastructure while ensuring that consumers and small merchants remain unaffected.
The council said banks, payment companies, fintech firms, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) have collectively invested for nearly a decade in building and maintaining the UPI ecosystem.
(IANS)
