UPI Was Meant To Be a Protocol, Not a Product

UPI is a way for people in India to send and receive money using their phones, and it is mostly free.

It was built like a public playground that everybody can use, instead of a private road owned by one company.

The article explains how payment systems can be used as tools of political control, like when Iran and Russia were cut off from global payment networks.

In 2016, India launched UPI so that no single company could control how Indians pay.

UPI became super popular — in one year it handled more payments inside India than the card network Mastercard handled all over the world.

Now, banks say keeping UPI running costs them a lot of money and want to charge for every payment.

In August, India's government changed the law so that charging could be allowed.

Some experts worry that charging for every payment would turn a public playground into a private business.

They think India should instead make money from extra services, like blocking money for stock market orders, and keep the basic transfer free.

They also suggest sharing UPI's design openly with other countries, the way Brazil shared its Pix system.