NPCI told India’s Supreme Court in a counter affidavit filed on November 3, 2026 that merchants and UPI apps are barred from passing the planned UPI MDR of up to 0.4% on person-to-merchant payments above ₹2,000 on to customers, LiveLaw reported on November 5. NPCI said the charge would apply to about 4% of person-to-merchant transactions, while person-to-person transfers and small merchants receiving up to ₹1 lakh a month stay free.
Why it matters: The affidavit defends the framework NPCI issued on September 15, whose October 15 start was postponed until after Diwali with no new date set. NPCI cited Ministry of Finance estimates of ₹20,700 crore in industry operating costs against a ₹2,000 crore budget allocation for 2026-27, and said payer apps that pass the charge on to users could lose their UPI membership.
Source: LiveLaw, November 5, 2026; NPCI MDR FAQs, October 15, 2026
Related: NPCI defers UPI MDR on select merchant payments until after Diwali · UPI processes a record 25.47 billion transactions in October
Image: Subhashish Panigrahi, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
