🚀 Medial Secures Investment on Shark Tank India - Fueling the Future of Professional Social Networking. 🔥
Login

News on Medial

Related News

UPI transactions near 17 Bn in January

EntrackrEntrackr · 5m ago
UPI transactions near 17 Bn in January
Medial

UPI transactions near 17 Bn in January The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) recorded 16.99 billion transactions worth Rs 23.48 lakh crore in January, reflecting a 39% year-on-year growth in transaction volume and a 28% increase in transaction value. On a monthly basis, UPI saw a 1.55% growth in volume and nearly a 1% rise in value, compared to 16.73 billion transactions worth Rs 23.25 lakh crore in December. According to data released by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the average daily transaction count stood at 548 million. PhonePe currently leads the UPI market with a 47.7% share of transaction volume, followed by Google Pay at 36.7% and Paytm at 6.87%. This market share distribution is unlikely to change soon, as NPCI has extended the compliance timeline for Third-Party App Providers (TPAPs) exceeding the UPI volume cap. The new deadline has been extended by two years, until December 31, 2026. Meanwhile, NPCI has lifted the user onboarding limit for WhatsApp Pay, allowing the platform to offer UPI services to its entire user base across India. Recently, NPCI Chief Dilip Asbe disclosed that approximately 450 million users are currently utilizing UPI, with around 200 million daily active users. He emphasized the need for substantial support from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the government, and the broader financial ecosystem to explore strategies for onboarding an additional 200-300 million users onto the UPI platform.

Exclusive: Major shift in UPI as Govt may allow MDR for large merchants

EntrackrEntrackr · 1m ago
Exclusive: Major shift in UPI as Govt may allow MDR for large merchants
Medial

Exclusive: Major shift in UPI as Govt may allow MDR for large merchants As of now, the government provides 15 basis points (bps) of subsidy for UPI transactions below Rs 2,000. One basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point. Banks may soon find a monetization opportunity in Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions, with the Finance Ministry (FM) and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) likely to permit Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) collection only from large merchants. According to three sources familiar with the matter, the move is under active consideration and targets businesses handling high volumes of UPI payments. "Large merchants such as Amazon, Dream11, Swiggy, Zomato, and Zepto may soon start paying MDR to banks," said one of the sources requesting anonymity. "The Finance Ministry and the RBI are likely to define a threshold such as daily UPI transaction volume/value for MDR applicability on high-UPI transacting merchants," the source added. MDR on UPI refers to the fee that banks charge merchants for processing UPI-based payment transactions. “The new MDR slab comes with a condition that large merchants will not be allowed to pass on MDR to consumers, they must bear it as a cost of doing business,” said the person quoted above. According to sources, the discussion on applying MDR on UPI transactions has been ongoing since the last quarter of FY25. The potential move comes in response to growing concerns from banks and payment aggregators around the sustainability of UPI infrastructure, which currently operates without any revenue model and inadequate subsidy. “Banks are already bearing losses on UPI. Ongoing costs like server upgrades, tech investments, and compliance add up. Without MDR from large merchants, sustaining UPI’s growth will be difficult,” said one of the senior banking executives of a leading private bank requesting anonymity. Last year, the Payments Council of India (PCI) proposed that large merchants, already paying 2% MDR on cards, should also pay 25 bps for UPI, as subsidies aren’t needed given UPI’s popularity and lower cost. In March, PCI wrote to PM Modi highlighting that the government’s Rs 1,500 crore subsidy covers only a small part of the Rs 10,000 crore needed annually to sustain UPI. Ongoing investment in innovation, cybersecurity, compliance, and infra justifies the 25 bps MDR for large merchants. Banks used to charge 30 bps on UPI transactions before it was waived off completely by the FM in 2020. Sources say the government will likely allow banks to charge MDR on large merchants soon, but no exact timeline has been set. Queries sent to RBI and the Finance Ministry received no response. As per sources, the policy is still at a deliberation stage, and no final decision has been made by the Finance Ministry or RBI. Policy decisions may change or evolve before formal notification. Despite soaring UPI volumes, the current revenue model is unsustainable, causing strain on banks, Payment Aggregators, and Payment System Providers (PSPs). Introducing MDR could provide crucial support to banks and enable a revenue-sharing model that benefits PAs, PGs, and PSPs.

Download the medial app to read full posts, comements and news.