Will a UPI Mandate or AutoPay Cost More from 15 October 2026?

Published: 7 October 2026

A mandate is the permission you gave once, so a company can pull money later. AutoPay is the UPI system that does the pull. From 15 October 2026 that pull is not on the new 0.4% table. NPCI’s FAQ says the prescribed MDR does not apply to UPI Mandate / AutoPay.

The same pipe carries a mutual-fund SIP, an OTT plan, an insurance premium, an EMI, a school fee or a society charge. SIP is not a separate UPI product. It is a fund using a mandate. OTT is an app using a mandate. The exemption is the mandate, not the brand.

A ₹10,000 SIP

You approved a ₹10,000 monthly SIP. On the due date the fund pulls ₹10,000. Under the reported FAQ there is no 0.4% MDR on that pull, so you do not raise the SIP to “cover charges”, and the fund is not on the ₹40 standard fee for that debit. A one-time UPI payment to a mutual fund is different. That sits in the capital-market rate, 0.02%, capped at ₹300, not in the mandate exemption.

• Recurring pull you already approved: prescribed MDR not applied.
• One scan at a shop above ₹2,000: the shop rule, 0.4% or the flat ₹5, if the shop is eligible.
• Money you send to family: still free, and not a mandate.

What to Check on the App

Open the mandate in the UPI app. It should name the biller and the maximum. A new 0.4% line on that screen is not what the FAQ describes. A shop that takes a fresh QR payment each month, with no mandate, is a normal bill and can be on the 0.4% rule. The word AutoPay has to be on the approval you signed.

The rate table and calculator stay on the homepage.