Npci

NPCI chief Asbe joins Swift's supervisory board as independent director

NPCI MD and CEO Dilip Asbe joins Swift's 15-member supervisory board, which will oversee the global financial messaging network's strategy and strengthen international cooperation

Festival breather: UPI merchant fee may be deferred till January 1

UPI MDR may be deferred to January 1, while the exemption for small merchants could be expanded to businesses with annual turnover of up to ₹40 lakh

MDR on UPI unlikely to dent transaction volumes: RBI Governor Malhotra

A 0.4 per cent merchant discount rate takes effect on October 15, while small payments remain free; UPI recorded 802 million average daily transactions in September.

UPI usage holds steady in September despite backlash over new MDR norms

UPI processed an average 802 million transactions a day in September, up about 1 per cent from August, while transaction value also remained firm despite the MDR backlash

75% traders may not face UPI levy, says NPCI MD & CEO Dilip Asbe

18% GST on merchant discount rate could be reviewed

Fintechs race to expand merchant networks as MDR returns to UPI payments

PhonePe, Paytm, Pine Labs and MobiKwik are stepping up merchant acquisition and device deployment as UPI MDR returns and NPCI plans a Rs 3,000-crore fund

A better way to fund UPI

UPI's costs could be shared more widely without distorting the incentives to use digital payments

Datanomics: PSBs lead among UPI senders, private banks top receivers

Proposed UPI MDR will give remitter banks the largest revenue share, while private banks dominate the merchant-side transactions

SBI expects new UPI merchant fee to cover costs and yield a small surplus

An SBI official says the UPI merchant discount rate could cover the bank's transaction costs and leave a small surplus, while merchants may split payments to avoid the fee

Govt considers mechanism to check pass-through of MDR to customers

Government may monitor merchants to ensure new UPI charges are not passed on to consumers from October 15

Apps oppose platform fee ban on UPI bill payments under new MDR norms

UPI apps say their Rs 1 share from a Rs 5 MDR on larger bill payments will not cover Bharat Bill Payment System commissions, while smaller transactions earn nothing at all

No foreign influence behind MDR on UPI payments above ₹2,000: FinMin

The finance ministry on Wednesday clarified that there was no foreign influence behind the decision to impose 0.4 per cent Merchant Discount Rate on UPI transactions above Rs 2,000. The clarification follows accusations by some Opposition parties, including the Congress, that the government succumbed to US pressure in taking the decision to impose the Merchant Discount Rate (MDR). "Some claims suggest the change is due to foreign influence. This is false. India's UPI policy decisions are made independently, with the clear goal of building a self-sustaining, inclusive, and affordable digital payments ecosystem," the finance ministry said in a post on X. Since its launch in 2016, UPI has grown into the world's largest real-time interoperable payment system - entirely on India's own terms, it said. UPI processed 24.5 billion transactions in August 2026 alone. To keep this system self-sustainable, secure and innovative, a small fee on high-value merchant transactions helps fund better

0.4% MDR kicks in from October 15 for ₹2,000-plus UPI payments

Sources stress MDR is not a tax on UPI, since the fee is distributed among participants in the payments chain rather than accruing to the government

NPCI consults banks, payment firms on fees for large UPI payments

The consultations ‌come after India changed its payments legislation on Monday, allowing firms to charge transactions of more than ₹2,000

UPI's AI protocol temporarily on hold as NPCI builds safeguards

The focus is on user protection, mapping actual risks from potential liabilities when agents go rogue, and governance standards around evolving technologies like these

NPCI launches two new agentic AI platforms: Key features explained

The platforms are designed to use AI to automate enterprise workflows and processes across India's digital payments ecosystem

UPI sets new record at 24.51 bn transactions in Aug, value at ₹29.82 trn

Transaction volumes rose 3.6 per cent month-on-month and 22 per cent year-on-year, while average daily UPI transactions increased to 791 million

Payment aggregators push for fixed and direct share of UPI MDR

The demand is likely to draw resistance, as payment aggregators are not direct members of the UPI network run by the NPCI

WhatsApp Pay's UPI volumes doubled to 168 million in July, shows data

Moved ahead of players such as Cred, Amazon Pay

NPCI targets Indian diaspora to drive UPI growth across overseas markets

NPCI plans to use the country's vast diaspora to drive global expansion, while also exploring AI-enabled payments through platforms like ChatGPT and Gemini