India's proposed UPI fee change intersects with U.S. trade concerns

# India's proposed UPI fee change intersects with U.S. trade concerns

> Evidence tier: B2
> Evidence type: Secondary report citing India's proposed legislation and Indian Express reporting
> Source: [The Kanal](https://thekanal.in/en-IN/details/upi-transaction-levy-how-indias-proposed-fee-is-linked-to-us-trade-concerns-59316)
> Published: 2026-08-12
> Captured: 2026-08-12T13:33:05.044Z

## Source summary

The Kanal reports that India's government introduced proposed legislation that would permit merchant-side fees on UPI and RuPay debit-card transactions by amending Section 10A of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said any change depends on Parliament passing the bill; the report also links the debate to U.S. trade concerns about the treatment of international card networks and notes that PhonePe and Google Pay handled more than 80% of UPI transactions at the end of 2025.

## Why it matters

A fee-policy change could alter merchant economics and competitive conditions between India's domestic rails and international card networks, with implications for foreign payment companies entering the market. The bill is proposed rather than enacted, and the article is a secondary report; final fee levels, implementation dates and effects on cross-border acceptance are unknown.

## Key numbers

- **UPI share attributed to PhonePe and Google Pay:** more than 80% (as of Dec. 31, 2025)

## Topics and entities

- Industry lane: Cross-border market
- Entities: India UPI / RuPay / Visa / Mastercard
- Cross-border payments
- Payment infrastructure

## Evidence and credibility note

Secondary report from The Kanal citing proposed legislation and Indian Express reporting. The measure still requires parliamentary approval; final pricing and implementation are not established.

Date evidence: Automatically verified from visible article text: 5 hours ago

## First-party corroboration

No directly corresponding A1 company announcement is currently linked.

## Original-source traceback

[Open the original The Kanal report](https://thekanal.in/en-IN/details/upi-transaction-levy-how-indias-proposed-fee-is-linked-to-us-trade-concerns-59316)

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This is a structured Payments Hot Markdown source summary derived from external reporting. Use the original link above to read the publisher's article; copyright remains with the original publisher.