The Lok Sabha on Thursday passed a Bill amending the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007, authorising the government to permit banks and payment service providers to levy charges on payments made through the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and other notified electronic modes. The amendment was passed without discussion amid disruptions, as part of the larger Taxation and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026. Soon after, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman moved it for consideration, further amending the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, the Income Tax Act, 2025, and the Finance Act, 2026. While RTGS and NEFT have long attracted service charges, UPI has remained the one major exception, free for both individuals and merchants. Some industry observers now expect that if MDR is eventually introduced, it may be limited to merchant UPI transactions above a specified value, with peer-to-peer transfers between individuals continuing to remain exempt.