New Delhi, Oct. 9 -- The government recently decided to end over six years of zero-fee Unified Payments Interface (UPI) usage by introducing a 0.4% surcharge on merchant transactions greater than Rs.2,000. The decision generated immediate friction among local business owners.

The UPI network powers payments for more than 500 million consumers purchasing everyday items-from street tea to smartphones-across Asia's third-largest market.

As public confusion mounted regarding potential fees on general consumer shopping and peer-to-peer transfers, the government issued key clarifications.

Answer: No, UPI services will continue without any cost to consumers. Consumers can continue to transact free-of-cost using UPI as they have been doing til...