Overview

• On August 2, NPCI data confirmed UPI processed over 700 million transactions in a single day, its highest daily volume to date
• Effective August 1, ICICI Bank began charging payment aggregators 2 basis points per UPI transaction (capped at ₹6) for those with escrow accounts and 4 bps (capped at ₹10) for others
• RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra emphasized that UPI’s free model is under pressure from rising processing costs and requires a sustainable funding framework
• Fintech firms and payment associations are lobbying for the reintroduction of merchant discount rates to offset infrastructure expenses and maintain growth momentum
• A major outage on August 7 disrupted UPI transactions across multiple banks and apps, highlighting ongoing challenges in system resilience