EconomySaturday, 19 September 2026·Hindu Tamil Thisai
UPI charges on merchants only from Oct. 15, 2026; public payments remain free
The Centre and NPCI said UPI payments by individuals will remain free, while merchant transactions above ₹2,000 will attract charges from October 15, 2026.
Key highlights
Direct fact
In September 2026, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) said that UPI payments made by individuals will not be charged, while a new merchant-fee monitoring system will come into force from October 15, 2026.
Key specifics
- UPI was launched in India in 2016 and is used by Google Pay, PhonePe, Paytm, BHIM and Amazon Pay.
- For merchant UPI transactions above ₹2,000, NPCI announced charges up to 0.4% from October 15, 2026.
- Merchant UPI payments up to ₹2,000 will attract no charge, according to the NPCI notice dated September 16.
- The Finance Ministry said 86% of UPI transactions are person-to-person, while 14% are business-related.
- Complaints can be made to the concerned bank if charges are collected from users for electricity, water, LPG, petrol, mobile, insurance, school or college payments.
Exam lens
MCQ focus: UPI fee structure, NPCI role, merchant threshold of ₹2,000, October 15, 2026 implementation; TNPSC may ask which transactions remain free and which category is monitored daily.