Recent Current Affairs related to UPI

Karnataka Bank Ltd (KBL) has launched the “Nava Dhamaka 2026: Enhancing Banking Experience” initiative in Bengaluru.

The initiative introduces 9 banking solutions across digital banking, investments, payments, customer engagement, and lending to improve customer convenience, digital payments, service delivery, and technology-driven entrepreneurship.

Bank of India (BOI), a Public Sector Bank (PSB), has launched a User-Level Programmable Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) with auto-issuance capability.

The system allows users to automate recurring Digital Rupee (e₹) payments and specify the purpose for which the funds can be used. It is to be noted that the technical functionality for this programmable CBDC solution was developed by Montran India.

Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has launched an Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) named ‘IIT Madras Unicorn Frontier Fund-I’ during the 7th edition of ‘IITMAA Sangam’ (the annual conference of the IIT Madras Alumni Association) in Bengaluru.

The fund is a joint initiative between the IIT Madras and Unicorn India Ventures (UIV). The minister also released a book titled “Cashless Nation: How UPI Changed Everything”, authored by Santanu Paul and B Sambamurthy.

Apple Inc. has launched Apple Pay in India. The service enables transactions specifically through Visa and Mastercard credit cards issued by Axis Bank.

Samvriddhi Inclusive Growth Network Pvt Ltd (SIGN), a subsidiary of MOS Utility Ltd, has received in-principle authorisation from the RBI to operate as an Online Payment Aggregator (PA-Online).

TBX (formerly TransBnk) has launched Business-to-Business (B2B) bill payments on its TrustHub platform through Bharat Connect for Business, a service of the NPCI Bharat BillPay Ltd (NBBL).

It is to be noted that NBBL is a subsidiary of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).

novio, operated by Credilio Financial Technologies Pvt Ltd, has partnered with the Indian Overseas Bank to launch a co-branded RuPay credit card.

PhonePe has received in-principle approval from the Central Bank of the UAE for two operating licenses, marking the first international expansion of the company.

The licenses include Retail Payment Services and Card Schemes (RPSCS) and Stored Value Facilities (SVF).

The UPI and Services Committee, led by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), has introduced a revised Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) framework, effective from October 15, 2026. Under the new rules, a 0.4% charge will be applied to UPI transactions above ₹2,000.

A flat MDR of ₹5 per transaction will apply to payments exceeding ₹2,000 in specific sectors like railways, telecommunications, insurance, and fuel. For capital market transactions, including mutual funds and stockbroking, the MDR is set at 0.02% of the transaction value, capped at ₹300.

The Ministry of Finance has notified that banks and payment system providers are prohibited from imposing any direct or indirect charges on UPI transactions up to ₹2,000. The MoF has also extended this prohibition to payments made through RuPay-powered debit cards.

NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL), the international subsidiary of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), has partnered with Singapore-headquartered FOMO Pay to enable the acceptance of UPI Quick Response (QR) codes for merchants across Singapore.

WhatsApp has integrated a native bill payments feature in India to enable users to discover, manage, and pay household and utility bills directly within the application.

The service is powered by the Bharat Connect network, formerly known as the Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS), which is operated by NPCI Bharat BillPay Ltd (NBBL).

PhonePe, a fintech firm based in Bengaluru, has launched its first local operations in the UAE. The company has secured two licenses to offer consumer payment instruments and to provide e-payment acceptance infrastructure for merchants.

PhonePe has launched ‘UPI 123Pay’, a service enabling feature phone users to conduct UPI transactions without internet connectivity. The service uses a Short Message Service (SMS)-based system to ensure secure transactions even in low network coverage areas.

This initiative aims to promote financial inclusion by providing digital payment capabilities to the non-smartphone user demographic in India.

The Unified Payments Interface (UPI), launched by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), has completed 10 years of operations.

In FY26, the share of UPI in the digital payments of India is recorded at 84%, the annual transaction volume of UPI reached 24,162 crore transactions, with the total transaction value estimated at ₹314 lakh crore.

President Droupadi Murmu has granted assent to the ‘Taxation and Other Laws (Amendment) Act, 2026’ and a legislation amending the ‘Payment and Settlement Systems (PSS) Act, 2007’.

The ‘Taxation and Other Laws (Amendment) Act, 2026’ replaces the ‘Income-tax (IT) (Amendment) Ordinance, 2026’. The Act provides exemptions from income tax on interest and capital gains (arising from the sale, exchange, or transfer) to Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) for their investments in government securities.

The Qatar-India Postal Remittance Service, utilizing PosTransfer powered by the UPI, has been operationalized in Doha, Qatar to facilitate faster, secure, and cost-effective cross-border remittance services between both countries.

IndusInd Bank and dining platform EazyDiner have jointly launched a lifetime-free co-branded credit card named 'EazyDiner IndusInd Bank Platinum RuPay Credit Card'.

The card offers dining discounts, entertainment benefits, and UPI payment functionality.

SBI Cards and Payment Services Ltd has partnered with Google Pay to launch a co-branded credit card named 'Google Pay Flex SBI Card'. The card is designed to make daily spending more rewarding for users.

Eroute Technologies Pvt Ltd has launched India's first 'Flexi Benefits Basket' on the UPI via its OmniCard platform.

It is an employee-controlled digital wallet designed for tax-efficient spending across multiple benefit categories. The platform is built on a RBI-licensed Prepaid Payment Instrument (PPI) infrastructure and is accepted at 60 million UPI-enabled merchant outlets.