National Stock Exchange (NSE) Managing Director and CEO Ashish Kumar Chauhan denied having any discussions with the Indian government regarding the newly introduced Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on UPI transactions for capital-market activities, clarifying that it is an issue for stockbrokers and their clients to resolve.
Chauhan said the decision was taken by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and described the issue as one that would have to be resolved between stockbrokers and their clients. He added that the industry would have to “wait and see” how brokers and customers respond to the new cost structure, as per Economic Times.
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Effective from 15 October 2026, a 0.02% Merchant Discount Rate (MDR), capped at Rs 300 per transaction, will apply to UPI payments for capital-market activities, including investments in stocks, securities and mutual funds.
Under the broader framework, standard person-to-merchant (P2M) transactions over Rs 2,000 will incur a 0.4% fee payable by merchants, leaving consumers unaffected. Meanwhile, everyday peer-to-peer (P2P) transfers, transactions up to Rs 2,000, and payments to small merchants under the zero-MDR scheme will remain entirely free.
According to the Finance Ministry, nearly 96% of P2M UPI transactions will remain unaffected by the revised framework, while customers will not be directly charged the MDR.bu
The new capital-market charge has raised questions over who will ultimately absorb the additional cost. Industry concerns have focused on the possibility of brokers bearing the expense when clients transfer funds through UPI but do not subsequently execute trades. Chauhan indicated that brokers and their clients would need to find a way to address such differences.
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NSE made its stock-market debut on the BSE on 24 September, before Chauhan’s remarks. Shares of the exchange listed at Rs 1,800, a premium over the Rs 1,785 IPO price, and ended the first trading session at Rs 1,818. The Rs 22,561.57 crore public issue comprised roughly 12.64 crore shares sold through a pure offer for sale (OFS) by existing shareholders, reported Economic Times.
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