India considers delaying rollout of UPI payments fee, sources say

According to Business Recorder, India is weighing a plan to push back the start of a fee on large Unified Payment Interface transactions by a few months. Under the levy, merchants would pay 0.4% on payments above 2,000 Indian rupees ($21), with collection set to begin on October 15. The fee follows India's decision last month to end its free UPI regime.

The delay would keep retail payments unaffected during the festive season, which runs from October to December and usually brings a jump in consumer spending. Sources said it would also give the payments industry extra time to prepare for the change. The sources, a regulatory official and an industry executive, spoke anonymously, and an email to the National Payment Corporation of India went unanswered.

Investors had viewed the fee as a monetisation opportunity for payment providers, which were expected to receive a share of it. Shares of Indian digital payment firms fell on Thursday after the delay news, with Paytm down 7.6% and One Mobikwik Systems lower by 7.2%. Local media were the first to report the likely postponement.