{
  "id": 12604119,
  "title": "MDR a small fee, will not have major impact on UPI volumes: RBI Guv Malhotra",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/07/mdr-a-small-fee-will-not-have-major-impact-on-upi-volumes-rbi-guv-12604119",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-10-07T10:15:03.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "YourStory",
    "slug": "yourstory",
    "url": "https://yourstory.com/2026/10/mdr-a-small-fee-will-not-have-major-impact-on-upi-volumes-rbi-guv-malhotra"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Reserve Bank of India Governor Sanjay Malhotra stated on Wednesday that imposing a modest fee, known as the merchant discount rate (MDR), will not significantly affect the volume of Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions. He assured reporters at the central bank's headquarters that there is no current reduction in volumes, and he personally believes that a small fee will not have a major impact on the transaction volumes. Last month, the government permitted charging an MDR, which now mandates a 0.4% fee on transactions exceeding Rs 2,000. Malhotra spoke to the media after announcing a rate hike and clarifying that a rate reduction is not feasible at the moment. He expressed confidence that banks' credit growth will remain robust and continue to stimulate broader economic activities. The central bank is aware of potential adverse effects on asset quality at non-bank lenders due to an influx of liquidity, but does not anticipate such a scenario occurring. Malhotra highlighted that system liquidity will not reach the surplus levels observed in recent weeks for an extended period. The FCNR(B) scheme, which facilitated the diaspora's deposit inflow of nearly $133 billion through a concessional swap facility, exemplifies the strength of the country's macroeconomic fundamentals. The central banker also expressed confidence in the prudent deployment of these funds by banks. He acknowledged external headwinds causing a decline in flows but noted that the current account pressure is temporary. Malhotra expressed optimism that the Balance of Payments would soon return to surplus, citing various supportive factors. When asked about the RBI's decision not to grant Tata Sons' request to surrender its non-banking financial company (NBFC) license and compel the conglomerate to list in line with the upper-layer NBFC norms, Malhotra did not provide a response.",
  "summary": "The government allowed charging of the MDR under which transactions above Rs 2,000 will attract a fee of 0.4%.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The Economic Times - Economy",
        "title": "MDR a small fee, will not have major impact on UPI volumes: RBI Guv Malhotra",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/07/mdr-a-small-fee-will-not-have-major-impact-on-upi-volumes-rbi-guv",
        "published": "2026-10-07T08:24:33.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}