On UPI fee, Opposition’s protests, Rahul Gandhi’s jibe, government’s response

In a post on X, the Finance Ministry said UPI continues to be free for consumers, with no charges on person-to-person transfers and merchant payments below Rs 2,000.

The government has rubbished claims of ‘foreign influence’ in its decision to impose a 0.4 per cent MDR, or merchant discount rate, on UPI transactions over Rs 2,000. This MDR will be levied on payments to merchants only and will not impact person-to-person payments, the government stressed Wednesday.

In an X post the Finance Ministry said: “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.”

UPI continues to be free for customers. Sending money to friends, paying at shops, or scanning a QR code — all remain without charges.

✅ No charges on P2P: Person-to-Person transfers are always free, regardless of amount.

— Ministry of Finance (@FinMinIndia) September 16, 2026

The pushback came after the Congress accused the government of surrender to a ‘demand’ by the United States to impose a new charge on some UPI payments from October 15. In a particularly stinging attack, Rahul Gandhi declared Prime Minister Narendra Modi had ‘decided to lie down straight and prostrate himself in front of US President Donald Trump’.

Calling the new pricing framework a ‘tax’, Gandhi in a video message on Wednesday said, “He has put a tax on every single Indian person by taxing UPI and giving a huge amount of money to the United States.”

The government hasn’t responded to the Congress leader’s attack so far.

In the X post this moring, response, the Finance Ministry said: “UPI continues to be free for customers. Sending money to friends, paying at shops, or scanning a QR code — all remain without charges.”

The Finance Ministry issued a detailed note on the new charges, including assuring lakhs of UPI users across the country that ‘everyday payments are safe’, pointing out that over 95 per cent of merchant transactions are below the Rs 2,000 threshold that will invite the 0.4 per cent fee.

Small merchants, the ministry also said, are ‘protected’ and vendors earning up to Rs 1 lakh per month via UPI QR codes will ‘continue to enjoy zero charges’.

Only larger merchant transactions – i.e., above Rs 2,000 – will attract the fee and this will be borne by merchants, the government clarified. And in another critical clarification, the government also said

payments for essential services – such as train ticket booking, fuel and telecom payments – would have a flat fee of Rs 5 per transaction above Rs 2,000