However, Dhiraj Relli, MD & CEO, HDFC Securities said, “the headlines around the new UPI charge have understandably focused on the 0.4% MDR, but what deserves equal attention is the decision to carve out capital market transactions into their own category at just 0.02%, capped at Rs. 300. That’s roughly a twentieth of the standard rate, and it isn’t incidental. UPI has become the backbone of retail investing in India and it settles IPO applications, funds SIPs, and brings first-time investors from smaller towns into formal markets faster than any rail we have had before. A blanket charge across all UPI use cases would have quietly taxed that progress. This calibrated approach tells us the intent was never to burden the retail investor, but to build a sustainable funding model for UPI’s infrastructure without pricing ordinary Indians out of investing. For stock broking clients in my view, the practical impact is minimal. SIPs set up through UPI AutoPay fall outside this framework entirely, and one-time transfers will carry a cost of a few rupees at most, never more than Rs 300. We have always believed the health of India’s capital markets depends on keeping the cost of participation low, and we are glad to see that reflected in how this policy has been designed. As an industry, we should read this not as a new cost, but as a considered decision to protect retail access to markets.”
