No—there is no blanket per-₹1,000 fee for retail users making UPI transfers under current policy. The government has told the Lok Sabha that there is currently no proposal to impose transaction charges on UPI transfers.
Why the rumour returns
Speculation about UPI fees has resurfaced after public comments around the “financial sustainability” of payment systems, which some readers interpreted as a signal that fees could be introduced later. But that is different from an official decision, and the Lok Sabha response says there is currently no proposal to impose UPI transfer charges.
What the Union Budget did (FY27)
The Union Budget has allocated ₹2,000 crore for FY27 as an incentive to promote low-value, peer-to-merchant (P2M) UPI and RuPay debit card transactions. Business Standard reports these transactions continue to carry zero MDR, with MDR unchanged.
When you might still see a “fee”
Even if UPI transfers remain free for retail users, a merchant/platform can add its own service/platform/convenience fee for the product or service you’re buying—this is separate from any UPI transfer charge. Separately, the Lok Sabha-linked report also notes some banks levying nominal fees on payment aggregators, which is not the same as charging an individual user for sending money via UPI.
FAQs
Retail users continue to enjoy free UPI transactions under current policy, and the government has said there is currently no proposal to impose transaction charges on UPI transfers.
No—claims of a mandatory per-₹1,000 UPI fee are not supported by the government’s stated position that there is currently no proposal to levy transaction charges on UPI transfers.
MDR (merchant discount rate) is a fee typically paid by merchants for accepting certain digital payments. Business Standard reports that low-value UPI P2M and RuPay debit card transactions referenced in the FY27 incentive continue to carry zero MDR, with MDR unchanged.
The ₹2,000 crore allocation for FY27 is described as an incentive linked to low-value UPI P2M and RuPay debit card transactions even as such payments continue under zero MDR. It is not presented as a mechanism to charge users per transfer, and the Lok Sabha response says there is currently no proposal to impose transaction charges on UPI transfers.
A fee shown at checkout can be a platform/service fee charged by the merchant/app (or via the merchant’s payment gateway), which is separate from UPI network charges. Separately, the Lok Sabha-linked report notes nominal fees being levied on payment aggregators by some banks, which is different from charging retail users for UPI transfers.
Policies can change, but as per the cited Lok Sabha response, there is currently no proposal to impose transaction charges on UPI transfers.
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