Fintech Weekly Deep Dive — The End of Free UPI | August 9, 2026
Fintech Weekly Deep Dive — The End of Free UPI | Week of August 3–9, 2026 Executive Summary On August 6, 2026, the Lok Sabha passed the Taxation and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which amends Section 10A of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007 — the legal provision that has mandated zero Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on UPI and RuPay debit card transactions since January 2020. The Bill does not impose fees immediately. Instead, it replaces the blanket prohibition with a framework that allows the Central Government to notify, by executive order alone, which electronic payment modes remain exempt from MDR charges. ...