Eligible payments above ₹2,000
Fee rulesUPI MDR Tracker
Starts 15 Oct 2026
“UPI charges” · 17 Sept 2026
October fees not confirmed
Provider fees ↓Google search interest
GOOGLE TRENDSIndia · 17 Aug–17 Sep 2026 · Web search
UPI charges* Incomplete day · scale varies by term
Source & readings
Relative indices, not counts. Zero does not mean no searches. Four retained daily readings; changing the query window may rescale them.
| Date | UPI charges | Merchant charges | Zero MDR |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-09-14 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2026-09-15 | 33 | 1 | 0 |
| 2026-09-16 | 100 | 4 | 0 |
| 2026-09-17 | 47 | 2 | 0 |
Fixed 17 August–17 September window re-read on 18 September. Four recent daily readings retained from this single sample; no partial-day marker was displayed. Earlier editions remain unchanged. Revised samples are not direct day-over-day changes in search counts.
UPI payments
BEFORE FEE ANNOUNCEMENTNUMBER OF PAYMENTS24.51 bn+3.6% vs July
VALUE OF PAYMENTS₹29.82 lakh cr-0.2% vs July
2026 · Billions of transactions · all person-to-person and merchant payments
Data source and coverage
August 2026 · P2P + P2M. Cannot measure MDR impact. Latest merchant breakdown unavailable.
NPCI statisticsPaytm and the stock market
CLOSE · 16 SeptPaytm · one session+3.47%
Nifty 50 · one session+0.43%
Paytm minus Nifty+3.04percentage points
11 Sept = 100 · closing prices
━ Paytm┄ Nifty 50
Difference is in percentage points, not an estimate of MDR’s effect.
Prices, dates and sources
Closing prices, selected trading sessions. 17 September is excluded because the retrieved stock quote was intraday. Nifty values were read from the indexed Yahoo historical table; direct retrieval was rate-limited. NSE’s quote page did not expose usable historical prices. These are secondary-source observations, not an exchange-verified feed. Price changes do not isolate the effect of MDR. The announcement date does not establish whether news arrived before or after that session’s close.
Checked 17 Sept 2026. Daily change compares 16 Sept with 15 Sept.
| Date | Paytm ₹ | Nifty points | Shares traded |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 Sept | 1670.00 | 23635.10 | 23,38,072 |
| 9 Sept | 1751.50 | 23431.50 | 82,47,684 |
| 10 Sept | 1739.00 | 23477.80 | 14,79,094 |
| 11 Sept | 1807.50 | 23398.10 | 92,69,434 |
| 15 Sept | 1730.00 | 23118.60 | 32,26,150 |
| 16 Sept | 1790.00 | 23217.60 | 1,54,13,025 |
Paytm: Stock Analysis / S&P Global ↗
Announcement ↗Cards, UPI and cash withdrawals
BEFORE FEE ANNOUNCEMENT2026-04–2026-07 · ₹ lakh crore · each chart starts at zero
All UPI payments
29.88+3.31% vs Jun
Credit-card payments
2.08+3.39% vs Jun
Debit-card payments
0.38+7.46% vs Jun
ATM cash withdrawals
2.21+1.38% vs Jun
Withdrawals are not cash spending. These series do not measure customers switching payment methods.
RBI data and missing merchant-only UPI
Latest retrieved month: July 2026. RBI figures are provisional. Each category has its own scale; these are not shares of one total.
Merchant-only UPI series not retrieved. Total UPI includes transfers between people. NPCI merchant data ↗
| Month / source | All UPI payments | Credit-card payments | Debit-card payments | ATM cash withdrawals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-04 ↗ | 29.030 | 1.973 | 0.369 | 2.311 |
| 2026-05 ↗ | 29.904 | 2.027 | 0.354 | 2.313 |
| 2026-06 ↗ | 28.921 | 2.014 | 0.353 | 2.176 |
| 2026-07 ↗ | 29.879 | 2.082 | 0.379 | 2.206 |
Table uses the units selected above. Source volumes are in lakh transactions and source values in crore rupees. Checked 17 Sept 2026.
Payment provider fees
PRICING PAGES / 5 PROVIDERS| Provider | Published pricing | October merchant fee | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|
RZ RazorpayPricing page | 2% platform feePricing details0% platform fees for first 90 days FAQ still says zero MDR on standard bank UPI. October treatment not established. | Not confirmed | |
CF CashfreePricing page | 1.95% platform headline / custom pricingPricing detailsNew-merchant offer: zero gateway fees on first ₹20 lakh GMV; page advertises offer until 31 March 2027, terms apply. Offer detail clarified, not evidence of a new price change. Promotion does not establish whether October network MDR is included. | Not confirmed | |
PP PhonePePricing page | 1.99% headline struck outPricing detailsPromotional free standard plan; terms apply No October-specific fee absorption promise established on the reviewed page. | Not confirmed | |
PT PaytmPricing page | 0% ordinary UPI shownPricing detailsExisting zero-fee language remains Public pricing and forward-looking exchange disclosure need to be reconciled. | Not confirmed | |
PU PayUPricing page | Varies by business / volumePricing detailsCustom enterprise pricing No clear October-specific UPI rate schedule identified. | Not confirmed |
Provider service fees and UPI merchant fees are different. Offers may not cover the new merchant fee.
Company results and announcements
CHECKED 17 SeptManagement expectation
Paytm: Additional merchant revenue expected
Details and filing
Paytm expects revenue from transactions that were previously free. It has not quantified the benefit in this filing. This is guidance, not realised revenue.
Company filing ↗Reported result
Paytm: ₹583 crore net payment revenue
Details and filing
Q4 FY2026, before this fee announcement. Company reports 25% comparable year-on-year growth and 1.51 crore subscription merchants. Net payment revenue is payment revenue less processing charges; it is not new UPI MDR revenue.
Company filing ↗Selected filings. Management expectations are not reported outcomes.
Evidence of merchant charges
CHECKED 17 Sept5Public pricing pages
0Verified fee notices
0Verified settlement records
No merchant-specific October fee notice or settlement statement has been verified in this research. Public pricing pages are not proof of fees actually charged.
What counts as evidence?
A fee notice must identify the provider, applicable payment type, rate and effective date. A settlement record must show the payment amount, fee and date. Record taxes and platform fees separately. Publish only redacted records shared with permission.
Zero records means none verified here, not that no merchants have received notices or paid fees.
Merchant fee calculator
ILLUSTRATIONSTANDARD FEE · ELIGIBLE MERCHANTS
- Customer pays
- ₹10,000
- Merchant fee
- − ₹40
- Merchant receives
- ₹9,960
Illustration only. Excludes taxes on fees and gateway charges. Small-merchant exemptions and special sector rates are not modelled.
Sources and findings
11 FINDINGSVerified 5Interpretation 1Anecdote 2Data gap 3
Findings by source type · not market share.
11 matching findings
POL-01VerifiedA selective merchant fee, with consumer safeguardsMinistry of Finance / PIB · checked 18 Sept 2026
The 15 September government clarification specifies 0.4% MDR for eligible merchant transactions above ₹2,000, capped at ₹300, with small-merchant exemptions and sector-specific rates. It says consumers should not pay MDR.
WHAT TO CHECK NEXT
Track implementation clarifications, exemptions and any official revisions.
Source period / publication: 2026-09-15. Observation: 2026-09-18.
View sourceCOR-01VerifiedPaytm formally expects additional merchant revenuePaytm exchange filing · checked 17 Sept 2026
Its exchange filing cites NPCI circular 237/2026–27 and an effective date of 15 October. The company expects additional revenue from previously free transactions, but has not quantified the impact.
WHAT TO CHECK NEXT
Look for quantified guidance, pricing concessions and retention commentary.
Source period / publication: 2026-09-15. Observation: 2026-09-17.
View sourceATT-01VerifiedSearch interest fell after the 16 September peakGoogle Trends · live browser reading · checked 18 Sept 2026
The fixed-window India comparison, re-read on 18 September, shows UPI charges at 1, 33, 100 and 47 for 14–17 September. Merchant charges reads 0, 1, 4 and 2; zero MDR reads 0 throughout. These are relative search indices from a new sample, not search counts or evidence of payment switching.
WHAT TO CHECK NEXT
Check if attention persists and whether specific switching queries emerge.
Source period / publication: 2026-09-14–2026-09-17. Observation: 2026-09-18.
View sourceINT-01InterpretationAwareness is clearer than switching intentAnalysis of Google Trends comparison · checked 17 Sept 2026
The general query dominates the selected comparison. This supports a surge in attention, but cannot identify searchers as merchants or demonstrate provider switching. The phrase ‘zero MDR’ also produces unrelated headphone queries.
WHAT TO CHECK NEXT
Use more specific queries and corroborate with actual merchant notices.
Source period / publication: 2026-09-17. Observation: 2026-09-17.
View sourceBEH-01AnecdotePersonal QR switching is being discussedPublic merchant / payments discussion · checked 17 Sept 2026
Public posts speculate that merchants may switch to personal QR codes to avoid fees. These are proposals and opinions, not a representative survey or verified evidence of adoption.
WHAT TO CHECK NEXT
Seek dated, independently corroborated cases; separate credit-card-on-UPI issues.
Source period / publication: 2026-09-16. Observation: 2026-09-17.
View sourceGAP-01Data gapNo transaction-level view of bill splittingResearch coverage note · checked 17 Sept 2026
We do not have a merchant panel, linked invoices or a payment-level dataset. Public discussion cannot establish clustering below ₹2,000 or a shift to cash.
WHAT TO CHECK NEXT
A consenting merchant panel or anonymised invoice-linked data is needed.
Source period / publication: 2026-09-17. Observation: 2026-09-17.
NET-01VerifiedAugust provides a pre-announcement baselineNPCI monthly statistics · checked 17 Sept 2026
NPCI’s indexed monthly table records 24,508.96 million UPI transactions worth ₹29,82,355.95 crore in August. These totals combine person-to-person and merchant payments and predate the announcement.
WHAT TO CHECK NEXT
Compare fresh P2M value, volume and merchant categories after implementation.
Source period / publication: 2026-08. Observation: 2026-09-17.
View sourceGAP-02Data gapLatest merchant breakdown not extractedNPCI ecosystem statistics · checked 17 Sept 2026
The current NPCI ecosystem page did not yield a usable P2M/category table in this review. Older August 2025 search results were excluded. Missing data is not zero activity.
WHAT TO CHECK NEXT
Retrieve the latest dated P2M and merchant-category tables.
Source period / publication: 2026-09-17. Observation: 2026-09-17.
View sourceMON-01VerifiedNews reports describe planned daily MDR monitoringMint · attributed official reporting · checked 18 Sept 2026
Mint (17 September) and NDTV (18 September) report, citing officials or sources, that implementation will be monitored daily from 15 October to check pass-through to consumers. This verifies the published reporting, not an independently obtained monitoring order. The operational mechanism has not been verified here.
WHAT TO CHECK NEXT
Obtain the primary monitoring instructions and any published compliance results.
Source period / publication: 2026-09-17. Observation: 2026-09-18.
View sourceMER-02AnecdotePetrol-dealer associations reportedly seek exemptionMint · association statements · checked 18 Sept 2026
Mint reports representations from petrol-dealer associations seeking exemption from the ₹5 fee for eligible fuel payments. A spokesperson warned of possible limits on acceptance. This is reported lobbying and stated intent; it does not establish that stations have stopped accepting UPI. Original letters were not obtained in this review.
WHAT TO CHECK NEXT
Find the original association letters and corroborated implementation notices.
Source period / publication: 2026-09-16. Observation: 2026-09-18.
View sourceGAP-03Data gapLatest completed market session and filings not verified18 September retrieval log · checked 18 Sept 2026
The retrieved Paytm history still displayed a 17 September 15:14 quote. Yahoo history retrieval failed and NSE did not expose usable closing values. The Paytm filing and submission index were inaccessible. The dashboard retains previously verified market and company observations with their original dates.
WHAT TO CHECK NEXT
Obtain final exchange closes, volume and dated company filings before updating these sections.
Source period / publication: 2026-09-18. Observation: 2026-09-18.
View sourceResearch notes and fee rules
A fresh Google Trends sample shows lower search interest on 17 September. News reports describe planned daily compliance monitoring and petrol-dealer exemption requests. These do not establish changes in payment behaviour. Provider October fees remain unresolved.
- Requeried the same 17 August–17 September India Trends window on 18 September: retained 14–17 September readings are 1, 33, 100 and 47. This is a new sample, not an appended point; edition 001 retains its original partial reading.
- Rechecked all five public pricing pages. Existing platform fees and promotions do not establish October MDR absorption. Cashfree offer details clarified; no confirmed fee change inferred.
- Added attributed reporting on planned compliance monitoring and petrol-dealer exemption requests. Neither is evidence of actual payment switching.
- PIB policy rechecked. RBI index still lists July 2026 as latest. NPCI tables and Paytm filing retrieval failed; their prior observations retain 17 September dates.
- Market series stays through 16 September: Stock Analysis still showed a 17 September 15:14 quote; Yahoo retrieval failed and NSE provided no usable close. No intraday quote was promoted to a closing price.
Behaviour changes remain unproven: cash steering, personal QR switching, bill splitting and provider switching. No representative merchant panel or invoice-level dataset is available.
Verified records support specific observations, not market-wide effects. Each edition preserves source dates; festive offers and existing credit-card fees may confound comparisons.
Standard MDR is not universal: small-merchant exemptions, essential-sector fees and a separate capital-market rate apply. Consumers should not pay MDR.
Policy source