Will UPI Transactions Cost Money? Clarifies RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra

New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): Reserve Bank of India Governor Sanjay Malhotra recently said that UPI (Unified Payment Interface) service cannot always be free. He clearly said that there is an expense in running this digital payment system, and someone will have to bear this expense.

The RBI Governor made this statement in a press conference after the Monetary Policy Committee meeting. He said, "I never said that UPI will always be free. There are costs associated with this service and someone will pay for it." The governor further said that the most important thing is that this system has to be made sustainable. Whether the government pays or someone else, it does not matter. But the cost of this service cannot be run without payment for a long time. He said that any service is sustainable only when its cost is covered, whether it is a person, merchant, bank or government. The RBI Governor had earlier also expressed concern on this issue.

At the Financial Express BFSI Summit held in July 2025, he had said that the Zero-Cost Model of UPI cannot run for a long time. He told that right now the government is subsidizing this service, due to which there is no direct cost to banks and other companies, but as the number of transactions is increasing, the cost is also increasing.

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