India, Oct. 29 -- The question of when India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI) will finally be monetised has remained at the centre of the fintech industry's conversations over the past month.

The debate intensified after the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) deferred the introduction of merchant discount rate (MDR) charges on select UPI person-to-merchant (P2M) transactions.

Earlier reports suggested that the rollout could be pushed to January 2027. However, the framework now appears likely to be introduced after Diwali, with the industry awaiting a final announcement.

Under the proposed framework, eligible P2M UPI transactions above Rs.2,000 would attract an MDR fee of 0.40%, capped at Rs.300 per transaction. The proposa...