Fintech Brief — October 28, 2026
Fintech Brief — October 28, 2026 Today’s Top Stories PhonePe’s Nigam makes the public case for UPI MDR — and questions the market-share clock Speaking at Business Standard’s BFSI Insight Summit, PhonePe founder and CEO Sameer Nigam argued the return of the merchant discount rate (MDR) is necessary to keep UPI sustainable: “You can’t have a vibrant payments market with no money in payments.” He disclosed that PhonePe has spent close to $1.7–1.8 billion over ten years — all of it losses — building UPI adoption, and brought in $2.5 billion of foreign capital while remaining without a life-to-date profit. At the 0.4% cap NPCI has notified for select person-to-merchant transactions above ₹2,000, he said, India would have “the cheapest MDR in the world.” Business Standard interview · Companion MDR report ...