India Moves to Shield UPI Users from New Merchant Fees

India will introduce a Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) of 0.4% on high-value UPI merchant transactions exceeding Rs 2,000 starting October 15, 2026, with the fee capped and mostly exempt for lower-value payments. The government mandates that the MDR cost must be borne by merchants, not consumers, and is engaging banks and trader bodies to enforce this and clarify the change.

This Wire brief sits within Fusion42's coverage of Fintech, and 45 sources have reported it between 19 Jul 2026 and 5 Oct 2026.