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UPI processed about 145 billion transactions in April–September 2026, up 27% from 114 billion in the same period a year earlier, according to figures attributed to NPCI by The Times of India and PTI/Economic Times. The total value rose 20% to ₹177 lakh crore. Separately, a Ministry of Finance MDR framework is scheduled to begin October 15, 2026; it covers specified merchant transactions, not person-to-person payments or every UPI transfer.

How much did UPI grow in H1 FY27?

H1 FY27 means April through September 2026. Reports attributing the figures to NPCI put UPI’s half-year transaction count at about 145 billion, compared with 114 billion in April–September 2025. That is a reported increase of 27%.

The value of those transactions reached ₹177 lakh crore, up 20% from ₹148 lakh crore a year earlier. In other words, the number of payments grew faster than their combined rupee value; transaction count and transaction value are different measures, and the figures do not mean that each payment grew by 20%.

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The October 2 Economic Times report carried the figures from PTI; The Times of India reported them on October 3, 2026. Both attribute the half-year data to NPCI. The statistics here are therefore reported NPCI figures, rather than a direct examination of NPCI’s underlying monthly dataset.

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What happened in September?

The Times of India reported 24.07 billion UPI transactions in September, down 1.7% from 24.5 billion in August. Transaction value was ₹29.37 lakh crore, compared with ₹29.82 lakh crore in August, a reported decline of 1.5%.

The same report put average daily transactions at 802 million in September and 791 million in August. It noted that August had 31 calendar days and September had 30. A single month-on-month comparison, especially across months of different lengths, does not by itself establish a reversal in the longer-term growth reported for H1.

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Will UPI payments above ₹2,000 now have a charge?

Not all of them. The Ministry of Finance says its framework starts on October 15, 2026 and applies MDR to specified merchant transactions above ₹2,000. It does not introduce a universal fee on UPI transfers. Payments up to ₹2,000 remain free under the stated framework, and person-to-person (P2P) transfers remain free regardless of amount.

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MDR, or merchant discount rate, is a merchant-side charge within the payments ecosystem. The Ministry says it is neither a tax nor money collected by the Government or NPCI. Its release describes the following rates for transactions covered by the framework:

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Payment category Stated MDR Cap or qualification
General specified merchant transactions above ₹2,000 0.4% Maximum ₹300 for transactions of ₹75,000 and above
Listed essential and thin-margin sectors: railways, telecommunications, insurance, fuel, and agricultural inputs; transactions above ₹2,000 Flat ₹5 per transaction Sector-specific rate stated by the Ministry
Capital-market payments related to mutual funds, securities, stockbrokers, and dealers; transactions above ₹2,000 0.02% Maximum ₹300

The Ministry’s release does not set out a customer UPI fee in this framework. It says banks have been advised to ensure merchants do not pass MDR on to customers, and that UPI application providers are prohibited from imposing platform fees or hidden charges. These are provisions and statements in the release; they do not independently establish how every merchant or provider will implement them.

Who is exempt from the new MDR?

  • P2P transfers: All person-to-person UPI transactions remain free, regardless of amount.
  • Merchant payments up to ₹2,000: These remain free under the framework.
  • Qualifying small merchants in P2PM: Merchants receiving up to ₹1 lakh per month through UPI QR in the P2PM category retain zero MDR on all their transactions, according to the Ministry.

The Ministry estimates that about 96% of merchant transactions will remain unaffected and that the framework will apply to about 4%. Those percentages are government estimates stated in the release, not independently verified measurements. The ₹1 lakh monthly threshold is specifically described for qualifying P2PM small merchants receiving payments through UPI QR.

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Who receives MDR, and why is it being introduced?

The Ministry says MDR is distributed among participants in the payment ecosystem, including banks and payment application providers; it is not collected by Government or NPCI. The release presents ecosystem sustainability and protection for individuals and small merchants as the framework’s aims, rather than as outcomes already demonstrated.

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It also says an amount equivalent to 5% of total MDR collections will go to a dedicated small-merchant adoption fund. That is a stated policy design; the release does not establish what results the fund will achieve.

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