Selected Tag: UPI

Opinion

Beyond the ₹100,000 Limit: Rethinking How UPI Classifies Small Merchants

India’s small-merchant UPI rules rely on a ₹100,000 monthly threshold. As digital payments grow, that limit may no longer identify the businesses it was designed to protect.

Rabi N. Mishra

Komal Gupta

October 15, 2026 at 6:46 AM IST

iStock.com

UPI MDR

Cost of Sustainability Must Not Become the Cost of Digital Exclusion

India’s new UPI merchant fee framework seeks to make digital payments sustainable, but policymakers must ensure higher costs do not push small merchants back towards cash.

Rabi N. Mishra

Komal Gupta

October 13, 2026 at 11:44 AM IST

iStock.com

NPCI Postpones MDR Implementation on UPI Transactions Until After Diwali

BasisPoint Insight

October 13, 2026 at 8:37 AM IST

iStock.com

UPI’s Next Challenge: Can India Keep Digital Payments Sustainable?

UPI has made digital payments nearly frictionless. The challenge now is funding that infrastructure without discouraging merchants from going cashless

D. Tripati Rao

Adv. Shivam Rai

Pooja Teotia

October 8, 2026 at 5:39 AM IST

istock.com

GTRI Urges Government to Reconsider MDR on UPI Transactions

BasisPoint Insight

October 7, 2026 at 3:36 PM IST

The UPI Checkout Test: Who Will Bear the Merchant Fee?

The rules say merchants will pay UPI’s new fee. But at the checkout, prices, payment choices and ingenuity could tell a different story. Who will ultimately pick up the tab?

K. S Sujit

October 6, 2026 at 5:57 AM IST

Istock.com

MPC Preview

RBI’s Policy Compass Set for a Swing

Resilient growth and rising inflation make the case for RBI rate hikes, but draining surplus liquidity will be key to making tighter policy work.

Shubhada Rao, Vivek Kumar, and Yuvika Singhal

October 5, 2026 at 5:18 AM IST

iStock.com

TRAI Directive Could Expose Telecom’s Pricing Trick

The telecom sector regulator wants to let customers refuse mobile data they do not use. For telecom investors, the test is whether operators can offer that choice without weakening the value of a basic connection.

Krishnadevan V

September 29, 2026 at 12:00 PM IST

Istock.com

Gold Loans – The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Gold loans are booming, but rising borrowing and falling real incomes suggest the surge may also reflect financial stress among Indian households

Vivek Kaul

September 18, 2026 at 3:27 AM IST

iStock.com

India’s Finance Ministry Rejects External-Pressure Claim on UPI MDR

BasisPoint Insight

September 17, 2026 at 8:31 AM IST

UPI's MDR: Wrong Instrument at the Wrong Rate

UPI’s new MDR shifts payment costs to merchants, but its ad valorem design raises questions over pricing logic, small-business impact and cash incentives.

Anil Katia

Ganga Narayan Rath

September 16, 2026 at 11:42 AM IST

iStock.com

How GST Data Is Helping Solve India’s MSME Credit Problem

GST is doing more than simplifying taxation: its digital trail is helping lenders assess MSMEs, widen formal credit and rethink traditional balance-sheet lending.

Rudra Sensarma

September 16, 2026 at 3:53 AM IST

istock.com

Fraudsters Do Not Need Better AI Than Us

The real fraud advantage lies in incentive, speed and adaptation. India’s digital defences must learn to see the whole fraud stack before criminals learn to defeat it.

Srinath Sridharan

Anand Venkatanarayanan

September 15, 2026 at 6:05 AM IST

Istock.com

Too Many Cooks in India’s Innovation Kitchen

India has built world-class digital infrastructure but lacks an institution capable of turning isolated breakthroughs into repeatable innovation.

Rajesh Bansal

September 2, 2026 at 6:47 AM IST

Istock.com

RBI’s Revolving Credit Curbs Could Reshape NBFC Lending

The RBI’s proposed ban on revolving credit by NBFCs may curb hidden risks, but could also constrain credit access for underserved borrowers.

K. Srinivasa Rao

August 25, 2026 at 4:02 AM IST

iStock.com

SBI Cards Is Chasing Growth Where Risk Is Harder to See

SBI Cards is using EMIs and UPI to win a bigger share of multi-loan borrowers’ wallets. Wider household debt could eventually raise card stress.

Krishnadevan V

August 11, 2026 at 4:03 AM IST

Istock.com

Honeymoon Over: What’s Changing with UPI, and Why Now?

UPI’s zero-fee model made it ubiquitous. A new legal framework for merchant charges risks changing far more than its economics.

Rajesh Mahapatra

August 10, 2026 at 3:52 AM IST

Istock.com

Merchant Fees Should Not Be levied On UPI Under External Pressure

India should not introduce MDR to address US trade complaints, or protect payments companies. Any decision needs to be based on the cost of running UPI and ensuring its long-term sustainability.

Ajay Srivastava

August 6, 2026 at 8:46 AM IST

iStock.com

India’s Financial Reforms Risk Becoming Policy Vapourware Again

India excels at headline reforms, but crucial financial sector overhauls keep stalling. Delaying invisible safeguards today could make the next crisis far costlier.

Utsav Saksena

July 21, 2026 at 5:42 AM IST

istock.com

India’s Next Banking Leap Lies Beyond What Customers Ever See

India transformed everyday banking through digital infrastructure. Its next challenge is the less visible overhaul of financial markets, risk management and supervision.

Rahul Ghosh

July 15, 2026 at 6:08 AM IST

istock.com

Meta Doesn’t Need CRED’s Loan Book. It Wants the Borrower Signal

Meta’s reported CRED investment keeps it away from Indian lending risk. That may be the clever part. The real prize is proximity to India’s cleanest credit behaviour.

Krishnadevan V

July 8, 2026 at 6:36 AM IST

After the Unicorn Rush, India's Start-ups Face a Reality Check

The first decade was about scale and valuation. The next will determine whether India's start-ups can build businesses that endure.

Rakesh Khar

June 19, 2026 at 4:19 AM IST

Istock.com

Should India Create More Cooperative Banks, or Better Banks?

As the RBI considers issuing new cooperative bank licences after a 22-year pause, the real question is whether India needs more banks at all or better banks.

Alpana Killawala

June 10, 2026 at 8:10 AM IST

istock.com

Cash Growth Outpaces Economy as Currency in Circulation Rises Nearly 12%

BasisPoint Insight

May 29, 2026 at 10:42 AM IST

The RBI’s Newest Rupee May Not Behave Like the Old One

While existing policy frameworks are not built to handle CBDCs, the questions they raise on the singleness of money to central bank independence could define the future of public money.

Utsav Saksena

May 26, 2026 at 6:36 AM IST

istock.com

From Ola–Uber to Bharat Taxi: Rethinking Platform Economics

As India’s ride-hailing platforms shift to subscription models, tax structures need to catch up with how they actually work.

Nilanjan Banik

April 20, 2026 at 5:30 AM IST

iStock.com

Reinforcing Trust in India’s Rapidly Expanding Payment System

As digital payments deepen, RBI pivots to protection. New authentication norms and shared liability aim to strengthen trust in a rapidly scaling ecosystem.

K. Srinivasa Rao

April 14, 2026 at 5:03 AM IST

iStock.com

Credit Cards Lose Their Skin, Not Their Relevance

As UPI absorbs low-ticket flows, credit cards are being disintermediated at the surface but entrenched beneath as embedded credit rails.

Ganga Narayan Rath and Chirayu Sharma

April 1, 2026 at 4:58 AM IST

iStock.com

Why India’s Working Capital Is Still Stuck on Paper

India has the rails to modernise working capital. Linking invoices with payments can cut fraud, sharpen pricing and improve credit flow.

BL Chandak

February 24, 2026 at 5:24 AM IST

iStock.com

MPC Review

Solving RBI’s Liquidity Conundrum

RBI’s record liquidity infusion in 2025-26 has failed to ease conditions as dollar sales, cash leakage and fiscal hoarding drain surplus.

Gaura Sen Gupta

February 5, 2026 at 6:09 AM IST

iStock.com

What Is India’s IPO Boom Telling Us?

The IPO boom reflects domestic confidence, rising retail participation and improving market depth. But exuberance, mispricing and volatility warrant caution.

Michael Debabrata Patra

December 15, 2025 at 4:29 AM IST

iStock.com

Why Wealthiest States Are Lagging in Digital Payments Revolution

India’s digital payments boom hides a stark truth: the richest states are the slowest to go cashless.

Nilanjan Banik

December 4, 2025 at 9:58 AM IST

Why Cyber Insurance Must Become India’s New Financial Essential

India’s digital payments boom has come with an explosion in cyber fraud, yet awareness of cyber insurance remains abysmally low. As attacks grow more sophisticated, insurance is becoming the last line of defence.

Alpana Killawala

November 24, 2025 at 9:41 AM IST

iStock.com

Nobel Prize Lessons India can’t Ignore: Gender, Institutions, Innovation

The last three Economics Nobel Prizes offer India a blueprint for growth rooted in gender inclusion, strong institution, and a fearless embrace of innovation.

Hemachandra Padhan

November 7, 2025 at 6:54 AM IST

Istock/jaanalisette

Central Bank Ombudsman Faces its Own Test

A Bombay High Court case revives questions about the limits, fairness, and future of RBI’s redress architecture

Anupam Sonal

November 3, 2025 at 6:46 AM IST

Building a Unified Framework for AI Oversight

India is crafting a unified AI governance model where innovation meets integrity. RBI’s FREE-AI and CCI’s oversight framework set the stage for ethical, transparent intelligence.

Anupam Sonal

October 30, 2025 at 8:02 AM IST

iStock.com

Week in Numbers: Tracking India’s Economic Pulse

Early October data showed no significant boost in private-sector activity, even though the full impact of the GST rate cuts had taken effect.

Datametricx

October 25, 2025 at 2:28 AM IST

Indian Navy

Between UPI and Cryptos, India's Digital Rupee Fights for Relevance

Two years since launch, India's digital rupee is getting challenged in a country already fluent in UPI, and tempted by the promise of crypto.

Babuji K

October 22, 2025 at 11:05 AM IST

Court Unquote

Green crackers, Sahara-SEBI, Digital Arrest, Asian Paints, and more

Your weekly rundown of significant judicial rulings and legal battles influencing policy, companies, regulation, and governance.

BasisPoint Insight

October 20, 2025 at 5:35 AM IST

iStock.com

Geopolitics

The Invisible Frontline: Cyber Wars And India’s Digital Destiny

With cyberattacks now striking our financial, military, and governance networks at record levels, the new frontier of national security is no longer just on land, sea, or air—it’s as much in cyberspace.

Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd)

October 17, 2025 at 10:53 AM IST

Via WikiCommons

Crypto Without Clarity: India’s Risk of Leading From the Shadows

India tops the world in crypto adoption. Yet its unclear rules, high taxes and hesitation risk turning a booming movement into a missed opportunity.

N. Srinivasa Rao

October 16, 2025 at 4:26 AM IST

iStock.com

The Illusion of Balance: Why Centrism Can’t Lead India

India’s future won’t be shaped by the safety of the middle but by the strength of conviction. It needs moral clarity, not centrism, to guide its democracy.

Srinath Sridharan

October 15, 2025 at 7:45 AM IST

iStock.com

Free UPI is a Bill the State Must Own

India’s UPI success masks a funding gap. Unless the government or RBI pays up, banks and fintechs will keep bleeding to keep it “free”.

Mint Owl

August 21, 2025 at 1:39 PM IST

When the RBI Governor’s Words Move More Than Just Markets

Two recent flare-ups show why Sanjay Malhotra must blend facts with empathy because, for an RBI governor, every word can be policy.

Basis View

August 12, 2025 at 9:36 AM IST

Screengrab from RBI Press Conference

India’s Digital Public Payments Infrastructure Needs A Backup Plan

India’s payments architecture has scaled with speed, but resilience—not just reach—must now define the next phase of policy and design.

Srinath Sridharan

April 23, 2025 at 5:55 AM IST

India’S E-Rupi: The Digital Currency Experiment That Needs A Bigger Push

India’s e-Rupi has significant potential but faces slow adoption due to low awareness, infrastructure gaps, and policy challenges. To scale up, policymakers must enhance digital literacy, connectivity, and trust. If successful, e-Rupi could revolutionize direct benefit transfers and strengthen India’s digital finance ecosystem.

Arti Singh

January 31, 2025 at 11:38 AM IST

Basis Shorts

October 21

Jio’s IPO Is Covered, but Institutions Still Carry the Book

October 19

Spoonful of Scrutiny

After Draining Rupees, the RBI Offers Banks a Breather

The Bureau

Asian Stocks Rally on Renewed optimism over AI investments, technology earnings

Structural Reforms, Not Rupee Defence, Key to Easing Currency Pressure - ANZ

YES Bank AT-1 Bonds, Cancer Drug Pricing, Google-Adani Data Centre & More

YES Bank says AT1 bond ruling may cut CET1 ratio by 250 bps

Supreme Court Upholds Order Quashing Yes Bank AT-1 Bond Write-off - Mint

Govt Approves Fairfax’s ₹528.78 Billion bid for IDBI Bank

RBI Governor Says Ready to Act to Keep Rupee Orderly - Moneycontrol

PODCAST: Does Monetary Policy Need a New Paradigm with Abheek Barua

India Can Grow at 7% — But Reforms Must Go Deeper