SBI customers who regularly use UPI should take note of an important update.
State Bank of India (SBI) has announced that its UPI services will be temporarily unavailable for 45 minutes on September 4, 2026, due to scheduled maintenance.
The service interruption is planned from 12:15 am to 1:00 am.
However, SBI said the maintenance work could be completed earlier than scheduled.
During this period, customers can continue using UPI Lite for eligible transactions.
What Will Happen to SBI UPI Services?
UPI is widely used by SBI customers for everyday payments, money transfers and merchant transactions.
The temporary downtime means customers may not be able to use regular UPI services during the maintenance window.
If you have an important payment to make around this time, it may be better to complete it before the maintenance begins.
SBI UPI Transaction Limits
SBI has set different limits for various types of UPI transactions.
Person-to-Person (P2P): Up to 20 transactions per day
Daily UPI transaction value: Up to Rs 1 lakh
P2P and Person-to-Merchant (P2M): Combined daily value limit of Rs 1 lakh
UPI Lite: Transactions of up to Rs 1,000 without entering a UPI PIN
Maximum UPI Lite balance: Rs 5,000
For selected verified merchants, higher limits are available.
Insurance and capital market transactions: Up to Rs 2 lakh
IPO (ASBA), Retail Direct Scheme, tax payments, hospitals and educational institutions: Up to Rs 5 lakh
India-Singapore UPI remittances: Up to the equivalent of 1,000 SGD
SBI’s UPI services are available across compatible platforms, including Android, iOS and feature phones.
UPI May See MDR Charges for Some Transactions
Another major UPI-related development could be coming soon.
The government is considering introducing a Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on certain UPI merchant transactions.
A gazette notification could reportedly be issued by mid-September. However, the exact MDR rate, transaction threshold and other rules have not yet been officially announced.
The important point for regular UPI users is that customers will not be charged for making UPI payments.
Person-to-person UPI transactions are also expected to remain free.
If MDR is introduced, it would apply only to a limited number of merchant transactions above a certain threshold and at a nominal rate.
What Is MDR and Why Is It Being Discussed?
MDR is a fee linked to processing digital payments.
It is generally paid by a merchant to the payment ecosystem when a digital payment is accepted.
At present, there is no MDR on UPI transactions. The government removed UPI charges during the Covid-19 period to encourage the use of digital payments.
The proposed legal change has been described as an enabling measure aimed at supporting the long-term sustainability, technological development and resilience of UPI.
The government has also maintained that UPI will continue to remain free for citizens.
UPI Has Grown at a Massive Speed
UPI has transformed digital payments in India over the past decade.
Annual UPI transaction volume increased from just 2 crore transactions in FY 2016-17 to more than 24,162 crore transactions in FY 2025-26.
That represents an almost 12,000-fold increase in transaction volume.
The value of transactions has also jumped sharply, from around Rs 0.07 lakh crore in FY 2016-17 to approximately Rs 314 lakh crore in FY 2025-26.
With UPI now handling massive transaction volumes, the government says measures to strengthen the system’s long-term sustainability and resilience are becoming increasingly important.
