Now the free service of UPI (Unified Payment Interface) will not remain forever! Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Sanjay Malhotra has recently said in clear words that there is a cost in running this digital payment system, and someone will have to bear this cost. He made this important statement in a press conference after the meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC).
His statement indicates that in the coming time, UPI transactions may be charged. This change will affect both digital payment users and businesses. After this statement of the RBI Governor, it is natural to ask who will bear the burden of this expense of UPI?
Who will bear the burden of UPI expenses
The governor further said that the most important thing is that this system has to be made sustainable. Whether the payment is made by the government or someone else, it does not matter. But the cost of this service cannot be sustained for a long time without any payment. He said that any service is sustainable only when its cost is recovered, whether it is a person, merchant, bank, or government.
Will the zero-cost model not last long
The RBI governor has previously expressed concern over this issue. At the Financial Express BFSI Summit in July 2025, he said that the zero-cost model of UPI cannot last long. He said that right now the government is subsidizing this service, due to which there is no direct cost to banks and other companies, but as the number of transactions is increasing, the cost is also increasing.
The UPI model is changing, and ICICI Bank took the first step
Meanwhile, big news has also come that ICICI Bank has started charging processing fees on UPI transactions. According to a report by ET, ICICI Bank will now charge payment aggregators (PAs) on a transaction basis. If the PA has an escrow account with ICICI, then up to 2 basis points (₹ 0.02 on ₹ 100) will be charged, with a maximum limit of ₹ 6 per transaction. PAs who do not have an escrow account with ICICI will be charged up to 4 basis points, with a maximum limit of ₹10 per transaction. However, if the merchant has an account with ICICI Bank and the transaction is done from the same account, then there will be no charge.
With this statement of the RBI Governor and the move of ICICI Bank, it has become clear that the free service of UPI is not going to last forever. In the coming time, some charges may be levied on UPI transactions, which may change the way of digital payment.