Desk note · industry · Payments / UPI
On 13 October 2026, the National Payments Corporation of India said its steering committee will implement merchant discount rates on select person-to-merchant UPI payments only after Diwali, not from 15 October as earlier planned, with a new start date to be announced later.
On 13 October 2026, the National Payments Corporation of India said the UPI and Services Steering Committee chose to wait until after Diwali before switching on merchant discount rates for select person-to-merchant UPI payments. The fees had been expected to start on 15 October. NPCI will announce the new date separately. Media reports in recent weeks had outlined a structure where many payments above ₹2,000 would face a 0.4% processing charge, with higher caps on very large tickets and flat fees for some merchant categories. Merchant groups and payment companies had argued that introducing charges during the festive shopping rush would complicate checkout flows and squeeze small retailers. After NPCI confirmed the delay on 13 October, shares of several listed payment names, including One97 Communications and Pine Labs, bounced from intraday lows.
UPI grew on free person-to-merchant transfers subsidised by banks and the government. Moving to explicit merchant fees is a shift in who pays for scale. A short delay does not cancel the policy direction; it buys time for billing systems, shopkeepers, and apps to retest pricing during peak sales. Large merchants with thin margins on big-ticket items feel the threshold most. Payment apps that hoped to earn interchange on high-value scans must wait longer for that revenue line. Consumers are not billed directly on standard UPI transfers, but merchants may eventually pass part of the fee into sticker prices if competition allows.
If you run a shop or online store, treat Diwali week as a fee-free window on the proposed rules and rehearse how invoices would change once NPCI sets a date. If you invest in fintech listings, the delay removes a near-term earnings bump but leaves the regulatory question open into November. Watch NPCI’s follow-up notice for the exact calendar day, any tweaks to the ₹2,000 threshold, and whether smaller merchants receive carve-outs. The broader signal is that policymakers still want UPI volume during festivals even as they inch toward monetising high-value merchant traffic.
Telecom / IPO
On 22 October 2026, exchange data showed Jio Platforms’ ₹30,213 crore issue had drawn about ₹3.73 lakh crore of total bids by late evening on Day 2, with the retail portion oversubscribed and market commentators citing diverted cash from other listed stocks during the book build.
SEBI / market infrastructure
On 22 October 2026, the Securities and Exchange Board of India proposed letting stock exchanges and depositories fund core-market and regulator-mandated initiatives without prior approval for each ticket, while keeping board oversight and financial safeguards and inviting comments until 12 November.
E-commerce / food delivery
On 22 October 2026, reporting said Flipkart is testing an internal food delivery product called Eat-in by Minutes with more than 8,000 employees in Bengaluru, using Ekart logistics as it prepares to compete with Zomato and Swiggy in meal delivery.
Digital trust / compliance
On 22 October 2026, eMudhra Ltd said its board will voluntarily withdraw from the global SSL/TLS certificate segment after a key-security incident on eight intermediate certificates, citing compliance cost and weak economics while stressing that other digital-trust services continue.
For informational purposes only. Not investment advice. Verify with filings and a licensed adviser.