Major update on mobile recharges! How much will the charge be for recharging Jio and Airtel's ₹3,500 plan using UPI?

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has announced a new Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) framework. Under this, a charge of 0.4 percent will apply to merchant payments exceeding ₹2,000 starting October 15, 2026. However, if you use UPI to purchase a ₹3,500 mobile recharge from Jio or Airtel, you do not need to worry about any additional UPI charges. This comes as a major relief to customers amidst discussions regarding charges on UPI payments exceeding ₹2,000. According to the stipulated rules, UPI charges cannot be levied on the customer, either directly or indirectly. This means the customer will not have to pay any extra money specifically for the UPI transaction when purchasing a ₹3,500 recharge.

How much will be deducted for a ₹3,500 recharge?
When recharging a Jio or Airtel plan worth ₹3,500 via UPI, not a single extra rupee will be deducted from the customer's pocket as a UPI charge. In other words, if the recharge costs ₹3,500, that is the exact amount to be paid when using UPI. Under the new rules, a flat MDR of ₹5 applies to essential daily services—such as telecom services, insurance premium payments, and fuel refilling—in addition to railway services. However, this MDR must be borne by the merchant (seller); the customer will not be charged any separate fee for making the payment via UPI.

What are the rules for amounts under ₹2,000?
Furthermore, you will not incur any additional charges for mobile recharges valid for one, two, or three months. This means no extra amount will be deducted for UPI transactions when purchasing recharges worth ₹500, ₹999, or ₹1,999. Similarly, for recharges exceeding ₹2,000, the customer will not be directly charged a UPI fee. The cost of the MDR applicable to such merchant payments is to be borne by the merchant and cannot be passed on to the customer.

What is the rule for UPI payments exceeding ₹2,000?

In accordance with government and NPCI regulations, customers will not be charged any direct or indirect fees for personal—or peer-to-peer—UPI transactions. Similarly, no additional charges will be levied on customers for standard UPI payments exceeding ₹2,000. Therefore, a UPI payment will not incur any extra cost for the customer simply because the transaction amount exceeds ₹2,000; this rule applies even to large payments, such as a ₹3,500 mobile recharge.

**Merchants May Incur Charges, Not Customers**
Under the new UPI MDR framework, a charge of up to 0.4 percent may apply to payments exceeding ₹2,000 made to a merchant. However, this charge cannot be recovered from the customer. The Ministry of Finance has instructed banks not to pass the burden of this fee on to customers. This means that while a merchant might have to pay a fee for receiving a large UPI payment, the customer will not be charged anything. In other words, if you make a purchase worth ₹3,000 and pay exactly that amount via UPI, you will not have to pay a single rupee extra.

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