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Find payment calculators, versioned rules, editorial guides, glossary terms, and official sources.
UPI Charge Calculator
Calculate consumer cost (₹0) and merchant MDR for any amount under the 2026 PIB framework.
UPI QR Generator
Create custom UPI payment QR codes and printable countertop standees in the browser.
Payment Method Finder
Compare legitimate options (UPI, RuPay, Credit Card, Net Banking) across fees, speed, and limits.
Bill reader
Photograph a bill, invoice, or UPI slip. See buyer extra ₹0 and shop MDR, then copy a note that cites UPIfree.com.
Multi-Payer Bill Splitter
Split shared meals, travel expenses, and rent among people with genuine individual shares.
UPI QR Code Analyzer
Client-side QR decoder to inspect payee VPAs, verify MCC codes, and check payment safety.
Merchant MDR Calculator
Model turnover, ticket size, and annual acquiring fee projections with regulatory caps.
UPI Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Transactions: 100% Free
Personal money transfers between individuals via bank accounts or UPI handles attract zero consumer charge and zero merchant fee.
Merchant Payments up to ₹2,000: Zero MDR Free Tier
All retail and commercial merchant payments up to and including ₹2,000 remain completely free for both the consumer and the merchant.
Essential Utilities, Municipal & Education Above ₹2,000: Flat ₹5 MDR
Specified essential public services, electricity/water utilities, municipal tax collections, and educational institutions have a fixed flat ₹5 MDR cap above ₹2,000.
Educational Institutions Above ₹2,000: Flat ₹5 MDR
Schools, universities, and recognized educational fee collections have a flat ₹5 MDR per transaction above ₹2,000.
Capital Markets & Mutual Funds: 0.02% MDR (Capped at ₹300)
Mutual fund, securities, stockbroker and dealer UPI collections attract 0.02% MDR, capped at ₹300 per transaction, as set out in the September 2026 NPCI FAQ.
Small QR merchants (up to ₹1 lakh a month): Zero MDR
Street vendors and neighbourhood shops in the P2PM class (receiving up to ₹1 lakh a month through a UPI QR into their own account) stay at ₹0 MDR on every ticket.
Standard Merchant Payments Above ₹2,000: 0.4% MDR (Capped at ₹300)
Standard merchant transactions above ₹2,000 attract a 0.40% Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) payable by the merchant/acquirer. A maximum cap of ₹300 applies for any transaction of ₹75,000 or above. Consumers pay ₹0.
UPIfree.com launches as India's independent payment intelligence and regulatory calculator platform
Official launch announcement: UPIfree.com introduces seven free payment utilities, an automated regulatory rules engine, and verified circular directories to clarify transaction charges across India's UPI network.
Taxing the digital rail: how UPI transaction fees impact India's strained economy and households
India's real economy faces high living costs, subdued rural consumption, and compressed retail margins. An economic analysis of how a 0.40% merchant MDR behaves like an indirect tax, how it transmits through supply chains, and what friction on digital public rails means for ordinary citizens.
If the shop pays MDR, do you still pay? Surcharge vs a higher sticker price
UPI does not add a fee line on your debit. A shop can still change the listed price. Here is what the gazette actually stops, what officials said they will watch from 15 October 2026, and when there is ₹0 MDR to "pass on".
UPI Charges in India (2026): What Consumers and Merchants Actually Pay
An authoritative breakdown of UPI payment fees following the Ministry of Finance framework: why ordinary users pay ₹0 and how the 0.4% MDR affects commercial merchants.
How Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) Works: The Merchant Guide
Understand how payment acquiring fees are calculated for Indian businesses, what the ₹300 cap means for high-ticket sales, and how essential sectors qualify for flat ₹5 rates.
UPI Safety Guide: Avoiding Frauds, QR Traps, and Fake Collect Requests
Essential protection rules: why UPI PIN is NEVER needed to receive money, how to inspect recipient VPAs, and client-side safety verification.
UPI - Unified Payments Interface
An instant real-time payment system developed by NPCI enabling inter-bank peer-to-peer and person-to-merchant transactions.
MDR - Merchant Discount Rate
The fee charged to a merchant by acquiring banks and payment aggregators for processing digital payment transactions.
P2P - Peer-to-Peer (Person-to-Person)
Direct fund transfers between two individual bank accounts or personal UPI handles.
P2M - Person-to-Merchant
Payments made by an individual consumer to a registered business or merchant for goods or services.
NPCI - National Payments Corporation of India
The umbrella organisation for operating retail payments and settlement systems in India.
PSP - Payment Service Provider
An entity (bank or authorized non-bank) that provides the digital interface connecting users and merchants to the UPI switch.
Interchange Fee - Interchange Fee
The inter-bank fee paid between payment service providers to cover transaction handling and risk management.
VPA - Virtual Payment Address
A unique identifier (such as name@bank or phone@bank) used to route payments securely through UPI without sharing account numbers.
Is UPI free for consumers and buyers?
Yes. Sending money to friends (P2P) and paying at shops (P2M) remain completely free for consumers. Banks and merchant apps cannot add a checkout surcharge or deduction to your account.
Are merchant transactions below ₹2,000 free of MDR?
Yes. Under the Ministry of Finance policy, all merchant payments up to ₹2,000 carry zero MDR. Government transaction data shows this covers approximately 96% of all merchant purchases across India.
What is the MDR for transactions above ₹2,000, and is there a cap?
The standard MDR for commercial transactions above ₹2,000 is 0.40%. For payments of ₹75,000 and above, the law caps the MDR at ₹300 per transaction.
How are electricity, water, and school fees charged?
Public utilities (electricity, water, municipal tax portals) and accredited schools and colleges have a flat ₹5 MDR per transaction above ₹2,000 instead of a percentage rate.
Can I use the bill splitter to avoid transaction limits or merchant fees?
No. UPIfree provides bill splitting strictly for genuine shared expenses, such as group dinners, shared road trips, or house rent. Never use bill splitting to artificially divide a single commercial purchase to bypass acquiring rules.
Does UPIfree ever ask for my UPI PIN, OTP, or bank passwords?
Never. UPIfree is an informational utility. The platform never asks for or stores UPI PINs, passwords, OTPs, or debit card details. QR inspections run entirely in your web browser. The Bill Reader transmits uploaded images to Sarvam AI and OpenAI solely to extract printed text. Never photograph PIN, OTP, or Aadhaar credentials. Ask Pikoo processes queries through an AI endpoint without saving user accounts.
When does the new shop MDR actually start?
The Ministry of Finance statement is dated 15 September 2026. NPCI circulars and official reporting establish that merchant MDR on specified shop payments above ₹2,000 applies from 15 October 2026. The calculators show the active regulatory framework so you can model deductions in advance.
Does a small kirana with a QR still pay 0.40% above ₹2,000?
Not if it is in the small-merchant (P2PM) class: up to ₹1 lakh a month received on a UPI QR into the shop's personal account. That class stays at ₹0 MDR on every ticket, according to NPCI FAQ coverage in mid-September 2026. GST registration is not required for that class.
If the shop pays MDR, will they just raise the price so I pay anyway?
On the UPI debit you still pay the listed bill, not the bill plus a UPI processing line. A shop can change its sticker price for cash and UPI together; that is a price change, not a PIN-time surcharge. Tickets up to ₹2,000 have ₹0 MDR, so there is no fee to pass on. Officials announced they will monitor transactions from 15 October 2026 so shops do not load MDR onto the buyer. Read the full split in the guide "If the shop pays MDR, do you still pay?".
Will GST or a checkout extra be added to my UPI bill?
No. You still pay only the listed amount. MDR is the shop's bank fee. On 17 September 2026, government sources confirmed they will monitor the October rollout so shops do not pass that fee to buyers, and dismissed GST-on-UPI rumors for consumers.
Is UPIfree an official government portal or bank?
No. UPIfree.com is an independent payment-intelligence website. Our calculators cite public circulars from the Ministry of Finance, the Reserve Bank of India, and the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
Can I photograph a restaurant bill or UPI screenshot?
Yes, with the Bill Reader. It reads merchant, date, and total from the printed slip and explains buyer fee (₹0) versus shop MDR from 15 October 2026. You can copy the generated breakdown. Printed slips and bank SMS notices remain primary records. Do not photograph PIN or OTP codes.
What is Ask Pikoo?
Pikoo is the on-site assistant. It answers questions using verified UPI rules, tools, and FAQs. It does not write generic computer scripts or take alternative personas. It does not provide banking support or financial advice. Never enter credentials or secrets. To analyze a bill, use the Bill Reader.