Archive · 23 Sep 2026
Finance Minister Clarifies UPI MDR Charges Are Not Consumer Fees
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman explained how a fee called MDR works on UPI payments.
She said payments below ₹2,000 do not have this charge.
She also said MDR is not a tax or a cess.
The money will not go into the government’s Consolidated Fund.
Instead, service providers charge it to help improve the payment system.
She said the charge is between payment operators.
Customers are not supposed to pay it directly.
Sitharaman said the opposition had confused people about the issue.
She urged people to be careful about misinformation.
Nirmala Sitharaman said MDR charges do not apply to UPI transactions below ₹2,000.
She said MDR is neither a tax nor a cess.
The charge will not go into the Consolidated Fund of India.
Sitharaman said service providers levy MDR to improve the payment system.
She accused the opposition of spreading misinformation and misleading the public.
- Who
- Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, service providers, and payment operators.
- What
- Sitharaman clarified that MDR charges on UPI payments below ₹2,000 do not apply and are not passed on to consumers.
- When
- The clarification was given after, and during a parliamentary session, according to Sitharaman.
- Where
- Chandigarh and Parliament.
- Why
- To clarify how MDR works and counter what Sitharaman described as opposition misinformation.
Government clarification
Opposition portrayal, according to minister
Who bears the MDR charge
Government clarification
Sitharaman said MDR is a charge between payment operators and is not passed on to consumers.
Opposition portrayal, according to minister
Sitharaman said the opposition was misleading the public about the charge, but the article does not provide the opposition’s detailed position.
Nature of the payment
Government clarification
The finance minister said MDR is neither a tax nor a cess and will not enter the Consolidated Fund of India.
Opposition portrayal, according to minister
The article says the opposition’s claims created confusion but does not specify whether it characterized MDR as a tax, cess, or government revenue.
- MDR threshold
- MDR charges do not apply to UPI transactions below ₹2,000.
- Nature of charge
- MDR is neither a tax nor a cess.
- Government fund
- The charge will not go into the Consolidated Fund of India.
- Who levies it
- Service providers levy MDR to improve the payment system.
- Who pays directly
- The charge is between operators and is not passed on to consumers.
- Minister’s response
- Nirmala Sitharaman accused the opposition of spreading misinformation.