UPI merchant fees to boost PhonePe and Google Pay

India will allow a 0.4% merchant fee on UPI transactions above 2,000 rupees from October 15, ending UPI's six-year run as a free network. PhonePe and Google Pay, which handled 80% of UPI payment value last month, could capture about $900 million of up to $1.1 billion in annual revenue by March 2028, according to Bernstein estimates.