Prahlad Krishnamurthi, CEO of Probe42, stressed the importance of distinguishing between one-time UPI payments and recurring mandates. “Consumers should not see their mutual fund SIPs, insurance premiums or OTT subscriptions become more expensive merely because they use UPI AutoPay, since recurring mandates are outside the prescribed MDR framework. The distinction is important because the new framework treats recurring mandates differently from one-time UPI payments. For one-time payments, the economics vary by category: insurance payments above Rs 2,000 attract a flat Rs 5 merchant charge, while capital-market transactions, including mutual funds, attract 0.02 per cent, capped at Rs 300.
