U-turn in a year: Modi govt had denied there were plans to levy charges on UPI transactions

The Union finance ministry had last year called “completely false, baseless, and misleading” reports that the government was planning to charge a Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on UPI transactions, a number of social media users highlighted on Wednesday as outrage over the charges on the cashless mode of payment grew.

“Speculation and claims that the MDR will be charged on UPI transactions are completely false, baseless, and misleading,” the finance ministry had posted from its verified account on X (formerly Twitter) on June 11, 2025.