UPI tops 80 crore payments a day for the first time, two weeks before merchant charges begin

India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) processed 24.07 billion transactions worth ₹29.37 lakh crore in September, according to data from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). That works out to an average of 802 million, or about 80 crore, transactions a day, the highest daily average on record.

The numbers

• Volume: up about 23% from 19.63 billion in September 2025.
• Value: up 18% from ₹24.89 lakh crore a year ago.
• Month on month: volume fell 1.8% from August’s 24.51 billion, mostly because September has one day fewer.
• Daily average value: ₹97,913 crore.

The 15 October change

From 15 October, UPI will no longer be completely free for every merchant, ending six years of zero charges. The new merchant discount rate (MDR) works like this:

• Person-to-person transfers stay free.
• Payments to merchants above ₹2,000 will carry a fee of 0.40%, capped at ₹300, paid by the merchant.
• Small merchants who receive up to ₹1 lakh a month stay exempt.

Payments of up to ₹2,000 make up more than 96% of UPI merchant transactions by volume, so most everyday payments are unaffected.

UPI will not be affected by MDR as it will still be cheaper than cards. — Reeju Datta, co-founder, Cashfree Payments

What it means for you

The fee is charged to merchants, not to customers paying with UPI. The festive season, which usually lifts digital payments, will be the first real test of the new charges.

Sources: Business Standard, DD News.