Banks Told To Stock Up ATMs Ahead Of UPI Charges? PIB Quashes News As Fake

A new merchant discount rate (MDR) framework for certain Unified Payments Interface (UPI) payments is set to take effect from October 15, 2026, with charges applying to specified merchant transactions above Rs 2,000. Amid the upcoming change, a newspaper clipping carrying a headline claiming that banks have been asked to stock up ATMs ahead of the UPI fee rollout has been circulating online. However, the Press Information Bureau (PIB) has quashed the claim as fake.

PIB Fact Check has clarified that neither the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) nor the Union Ministry of Finance has issued any instructions to stock up ATMs ahead of the UPI fee rollout on October 15.

What The Newspaper Clipping Claimed

The newspaper clipping shown in the PIB Fact Check post said that the RBI and finance ministry had asked banks to ensure adequate cash availability at ATMs from October 15 as a precautionary measure when the UPI fee comes into effect. It also said that ATM cash usage could temporarily increase as people and merchants adjust to the new MDR regime for certain UPI transactions.

What Did PIB Fact Check Say?

PIB Fact Check said the claim made in the headline is fake. It clarified that no such instructions have been issued by either the RBI or the finance ministry to stock up ATMs ahead of the UPI fee rollout on October 15.

The fact-checking agency also advised users to flag suspicious content related to the central government through PIB Fact Check.

What Are The UPI Charges?

The finance ministry has clarified that the new framework will not affect person-to-person (P2P) UPI transactions. Such payments will remain free irrespective of the amount transferred.

Payments to merchants (P2M) up to Rs 2,000 will also remain free, along with transactions covered under the nil-MDR framework for small merchants. According to the ministry, around 96 per cent of P2M transactions will remain unaffected. MDR will apply only to specified merchant transactions above Rs 2,000.

The ministry has also clarified that MDR is neither a tax nor a charge collected by the government or the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). It is distributed among participants in the payment ecosystem, including banks and payment application providers.