The National Payments Corporation of India postponed the October 15 start of a 0.4% fee on eligible merchant UPI transactions above ₹2,000 (about $21), citing the festive shopping season; it will now come after Diwali, with no new date. Retailers and petrol pump operators had opposed it, some saying they would stop accepting UPI. The fee would end a policy, in place since January 2020, of keeping UPI free for merchants. UPI processed 24.07 billion transactions worth ₹29.37 trillion (about $305 billion) in September.