No toll
on UPI
From 15 October, merchants will pay a 0.4% fee on eligible UPI payments above ₹2,000.
We’re asking for it to be withdrawn, and we’re submitting every signature to the Ministry of Finance, RBI and NPCI on 12 October.
Goal: 10,000 signatures. Signing closes 11 October, 11:59 pm.
Add your name
Takes under a minute. Your name goes into the formal representation.
What changes on 15 October
NPCI’s framework, notified on 15 September 2026, adds a merchant discount rate to some UPI payments. Here is exactly what it does, including what stays free.
- 0.4% on merchant payments above ₹2,000
- Charged to the merchant on the full payment. A ₹3,000 payment carries ₹12.
- Capped at ₹300 per payment
- The cap is reached at ₹75,000. GST at 18% applies on the fee.
- Sending money to people stays free
- Person-to-person UPI has no fee at any amount.
- Merchant payments up to ₹2,000 stay free
- Small everyday purchases carry no MDR.
- Small merchants are exempt
- Zero MDR for small merchants up to ₹1 lakh monthly receipts.
- AutoPay is excluded
- Recurring bills, subscriptions and SIPs through mandates carry no MDR. Essential sectors pay a flat ₹5.
The toll meter
Run a business? See what the new fee could cost you in a month and a year. These are estimates from the published rates, not a bill.
Why we oppose it
Customers aren't charged, and most small payments stay free. We say so plainly. Our objection is to what the fee does to a payment system India built for everyone, and to the businesses above the line.
UPI is public infrastructure
India made UPI universal by keeping it free to accept. Public roads get funded; they don't charge each car at the shop door.
Growing businesses carry it
The exemptions protect the smallest. The cost lands on businesses that are growing and going digital: startups, D2C brands and MSMEs.
Cash has no fee
For years, businesses were asked to go digital. A fee on digital acceptance, and none on cash, sends the wrong signal.
Customers pay in the end
No cost stops at the till. A shop facing a new fee on every sale covers it somewhere, usually in its prices. Customers aren’t billed for MDR, but over time they are likely to carry part of it.
The Government’s case
- Running UPI at 24.5 billion transactions a month costs money for servers, fraud prevention and cybersecurity.
- Budget support covers only part of that cost, and a parliamentary committee called for a revenue model.
- About 96% of merchant payments stay unaffected, and consumers pay nothing.
Our answer
- We agree UPI needs sustainable funding.
- Charging merchants on every payment is the wrong way to pay for something the whole country uses.
- Other options deserve consultation first: budget support, revenue from value-added and credit-on-UPI services, and charging large aggregators rather than general merchants.
Point chaar,
nahi chalega
Signing closes 11 October. Every name counts in the submission.
Sign the petition