But as the Financial Times (FT) reported<\/a> Sunday (Oct. 18), that change isn\u2019t sitting well with Indian businesses. The report cited a survey from polling agency Local Circles showing that 83% of merchants were not willing to bear the additional costs.<\/p>\n The report said this fee could be a blow to the 10-year-old UPI, one of the world\u2019s most widely used digital payments systems.<\/p>\n As FT noted, the launch of UPI coincided with a government effort to take large denomination bills out of circulation. However, use of physical currency has remained popular, with around 2.3 times as much cash in circulation now than 10 years ago.<\/p>\n We\u2019d love to be your preferred source for news<\/a>.<\/p>\n Please add us to your preferred sources list so our news, data and interviews show up in your feed. Thanks!<\/p>\n \u201cCurrency in circulation continues to grow at double-digit rates even as cash\u2019s share of individual transactions declines, thanks to growing digital payment adoption,\u201d Reserve Bank of India<\/a> (RBI) Deputy Governor Shirish Chandra Murmu<\/a> told FT, referring to this dynamic as the \u201ccash paradox.\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile, uptake of UPI has also soared as a way to pay vendors, cover groceries or restaurant bills, and make money transfers. The platform processed around 242 billion transactions during its latest financial year, a nearly 12,000-fold increase from its first full year of operation, FT said.<\/p>\n UPI and cash use \u201chave grown together,\u201d said Anush Raghavan<\/a>, chief business officer at CMS Info Systems, India\u2019s biggest cash management company.<\/p>\n \u201cUPI has taken over a large share of small everyday payments, yet on the RBI\u2019s own estimates, cash still funds more than half of consumer spending, and more households now also hold it as a reserve,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n![\"Preferred](\"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Google-PYMNTS-blackbox.svg\")
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