Desk note · industry · Payments / UPI
On 13 October 2026, the National Payments Corporation of India said its steering committee will implement merchant discount rates on select person-to-merchant UPI payments only after Diwali, not from 15 October as earlier planned, with a new start date to be announced later.
On 13 October 2026, the National Payments Corporation of India said the UPI and Services Steering Committee chose to wait until after Diwali before switching on merchant discount rates for select person-to-merchant UPI payments. The fees had been expected to start on 15 October. NPCI will announce the new date separately. Media reports in recent weeks had outlined a structure where many payments above ₹2,000 would face a 0.4% processing charge, with higher caps on very large tickets and flat fees for some merchant categories. Merchant groups and payment companies had argued that introducing charges during the festive shopping rush would complicate checkout flows and squeeze small retailers. After NPCI confirmed the delay on 13 October, shares of several listed payment names, including One97 Communications and Pine Labs, bounced from intraday lows.
UPI grew on free person-to-merchant transfers subsidised by banks and the government. Moving to explicit merchant fees is a shift in who pays for scale. A short delay does not cancel the policy direction; it buys time for billing systems, shopkeepers, and apps to retest pricing during peak sales. Large merchants with thin margins on big-ticket items feel the threshold most. Payment apps that hoped to earn interchange on high-value scans must wait longer for that revenue line. Consumers are not billed directly on standard UPI transfers, but merchants may eventually pass part of the fee into sticker prices if competition allows.
If you run a shop or online store, treat Diwali week as a fee-free window on the proposed rules and rehearse how invoices would change once NPCI sets a date. If you invest in fintech listings, the delay removes a near-term earnings bump but leaves the regulatory question open into November. Watch NPCI’s follow-up notice for the exact calendar day, any tweaks to the ₹2,000 threshold, and whether smaller merchants receive carve-outs. The broader signal is that policymakers still want UPI volume during festivals even as they inch toward monetising high-value merchant traffic.
Trade policy / exports
Commerce minister Piyush Goyal said on 22 October 2026 that India’s proposed free-trade agreement with the European Union could become operational within four to five months after signing, with the deal expected to be inked before year-end during his visit to Germany.
Food delivery / quick commerce
Swiggy reported on 22 October 2026 that September-quarter revenue rose 36% to about ₹7,571 crore and the consolidated net loss narrowed to ₹922 crore, as food delivery posted record adjusted core profit of about ₹349 crore while quick-commerce Instamart lost about ₹764 crore at the segment level amid heavier discounting and 69 new dark stores.
Quick-service restaurants / consumers
KFC and Pizza Hut operator Sapphire Foods India said on 22 October 2026 that September-quarter consolidated restaurant sales rose 20% year on year to about ₹885 crore, with KFC India same-store sales up 14% and adjusted EBITDA margin expanding 100 basis points to 7.1% even as the listed stock remained far below its 52-week high.
RBI / government borrowing
On 22 October 2026, the Reserve Bank of India accepted no bids at the scheduled sale of short-dated government treasury bills, the first full cancellation in about seven months, as investors demanded higher yields amid a bond selloff, oil-linked inflation fears, and expectations of more rate hikes after October’s policy minutes.
For informational purposes only. Not investment advice. Verify with filings and a licensed adviser.