Archive · 17 Sep 2026
New UPI MDR Rules: Impact on SIPs, FDs and Investments
UPI is a way to move money using a phone.
A new rule will change how some businesses pay fees for receiving UPI money.
Regular SIP payments made through UPI AutoPay should not be affected.
One-time mutual fund payments will have a small MDR of 0.02%, but this fee is normally paid by the receiving business.
Investors should not see a separate bill called a UPI MDR charge.
Brokers may still face costs when investors add money to trading accounts.
Buying an ETF does not create another UPI fee if the money is already in the trading account.
Fixed-deposit payments may be treated differently depending on the bank or platform handling them.
Investors should check their payment route and any updated platform fees.
The new UPI MDR framework is scheduled to take effect on October 15, 2026.
UPI AutoPay, NACH and other recurring SIP mandates are expected to remain outside the new MDR structure.
One-time mutual fund and securities payments will carry a concessional MDR of 0.02%, capped at ₹300.
Funding a trading account through UPI may create costs for brokers, but not a separate MDR bill for investors.
Fixed-deposit payments will depend on the payment route and classification, especially on third-party fintech platforms.
- Who
- Retail investors, brokers, banks, asset-management companies, payment platforms and other payment-receiving businesses.
- What
- A new UPI Merchant Discount Rate framework will set different MDR treatments for recurring payments, merchant payments and capital-market transactions.
- When
- The framework is scheduled to take effect on October 15, 2026.
- Where
- Across India's UPI payments ecosystem.
- Why
- The framework distinguishes payments by type, recipient and transaction classification, while keeping recurring mandates outside the new structure.
No Direct Investor Charge
Possible Indirect Pricing Effects
Who bears the MDR?
No Direct Investor Charge
The framework and government clarification indicate that customers should not be charged MDR separately; the payment-receiving business generally bears it.
Possible Indirect Pricing Effects
Although the MDR cannot be passed on as a separate UPI charge, platforms, brokers or AMCs could make broader commercial changes to their pricing or payment terms.
Impact on trading activity
No Direct Investor Charge
Long-term investors should not receive a separate MDR bill, and purchases made with money already in a trading account do not separately attract UPI MDR.
Possible Indirect Pricing Effects
Brokers may face multiplied costs when active traders repeatedly move money into and out of trading accounts, potentially influencing future pricing or preferred payment methods.
Fixed-deposit classification
No Direct Investor Charge
An FD opened directly through a bank app is generally funded through an internal bank transfer and does not automatically become a standard UPI merchant payment.
Possible Indirect Pricing Effects
FD payments through UPI, especially on third-party fintech platforms, may receive different treatment because the framework does not explicitly assign them a separate category.
- Effective date
- October 15, 2026
- Capital-market MDR
- 0.02%, capped at ₹300 per transaction
- Recurring SIP mandates
- UPI AutoPay, NACH and other recurring mandates are expected to remain outside the new MDR structure
- ₹1 lakh one-time investment
- The applicable MDR calculation would be ₹20, generally borne by the receiving entity
- Trading-account funding
- A ₹50,000 UPI transfer would produce an MDR calculation of ₹10 for the intermediary
- ETF purchases
- The MDR applies to funding the trading account, not separately to a later ETF purchase made with existing account funds
- Fixed deposits
- Treatment depends on the payment route and classification; third-party fintech FD platforms do not have an explicitly assigned separate category in the published framework