ICICI Bank has introduced a transaction fee for payment aggregators using its UPI services, effective August 1, 2025.
Here are the key details:
- Payment aggregators with an escrow account at ICICI Bank will be charged 2 basis points (0.02%) per transaction, capped at ₹6.
- Those without an escrow account at ICICI Bank will be charged 4 basis points (0.04%), capped at ₹10.
- No fee will be charged when UPI transactions are settled directly into a merchant’s account with ICICI Bank.
This move comes in response to the rising volume of UPI transactions and the associated infrastructure and switch costs borne by banks. With over 700 million UPI transactions happening daily and no merchant discount rate (MDR) in place, banks have been looking for ways to recover costs.
ICICI Bank is not the first to introduce such charges—others like Yes Bank and Axis Bank have already implemented similar fee structures. The charges will not affect end users directly, but payment aggregators may choose to absorb the cost or pass it on to merchants.
| Aggregator Type | Fee | Cap per Transaction |
|---|---|---|
| Escrow with ICICI Bank | 0.02% (2 bps) | ₹6 |
| No Escrow with ICICI Bank | 0.04% (4 bps) | ₹10 |
| Settled into ICICI merchant account | 0% | ₹0 |