# Supreme Court refuses to stay UPI charges on payments above Rs 2,000 2026-09-28T18:21:36+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet The Supreme Court on Monday declined to put an interim stay on the government's decision to levy a merchant discount rate (MDR) on UPI payments above Rs 2,000. A bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant issued notices to the Centre, the Reserve Bank of India and the National Payments Corporation of India, seeking their legal justification for the charge. The court was hearing a petition challenging the MDR, which took effect on 15 October. The government, represented by Additional Solicitor General N Venkataraman, argued that MDR is neither a tax nor a fee, and that 96 per cent of gateway users are outside the rule. Justice Joymalya Bagchi questioned why a charge should apply to 140 crore Indians if it is not a fee. Under the new rules, MDR on payments above Rs 2,000 is capped at 0.4 per cent, with a maximum of Rs 300 for transactions of Rs 75,000 or more. Essential sectors such as railways, telecom, insurance, fuel and farm goods attract a flat Rs 5 MDR. The Centre, RBI and NPCI must now file their responses in court. ## Indian Opinion Analysis The Supreme Court has left the MDR regime intact for now, but the notice to the government, RBI and NPCI signals that the policy faces a serious legal test. The key issue is whether MDR is a permissible settlement charge between banks and operators, as the government claims, or an unauthorised impost on users. The court's reference to 140 crore citizens suggests it will weigh the burden on consumers. The government must now show clear statutory backing for the charge. The next hearing will determine whether the policy survives or is rolled back. The next hearing will determine whether the policy survives or is rolled back. ## Coverage - bazaar.businesstoday.in Tags: merchant discount rate, NPCI, RBI, Supreme Court, UPI Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/supreme-court-refuses-to-stay-upi-charges-on-payments-above-rs-2000/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/supreme-court-refuses-to-stay-upi-charges-on-payments-above-rs-2000/#story-in-brief