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Clinic bank account and UPI QR at the front desk Why the clinic needs its own account, which QR codes RBI recognises, and the 2026 UPI merchant charges.
At many small clinics the first UPI QR at the desk is the doctor's personal one, printed from a payments app on day one. It works, until the CA asks for the year's receipts and finds them mixed with family transfers, or the doctor's phone is away and the desk cannot confirm a payment. This post covers the account, the QR and what UPI costs a clinic after the changes announced in 2026.
Published · Last reviewed · 6 min read
- Use one bank account only for the clinic. The presumptive tax limits for doctors are tested on gross receipts and on the cash share of those receipts, and a clean account is the simplest proof of both.
- RBI's QR circular of 22 October 2020 says the two interoperable QR codes, UPI QR and Bharat QR, "shall continue as at present", and no new proprietary QR codes may be launched.
- From the Ministry of Finance's 15 September 2026 release: UPI payments to merchants up to ₹2,000 stay free of MDR, small merchants receiving up to ₹1 lakh a month via UPI QR under the P2PM category stay at zero MDR, and other merchant payments above ₹2,000 carry a 0.4% MDR, capped at ₹300 from ₹75,000. The customer is not to be charged.
Open a bank account used only for the clinic, link the clinic's UPI QR and card machine to it, and pay clinic expenses from it. Most OPD consultation payments are below ₹2,000, and the Ministry of Finance said on 15 September 2026 that UPI payments to merchants up to ₹2,000 remain free of merchant charges. Larger bills, such as procedures, can now carry a merchant discount rate of 0.4% on UPI unless the clinic falls in the small-merchant category.
Why does a clinic need a separate bank account?
No tax law we read says a clinic must open a current account, and banks set their own terms for which account they will open for a practice, a firm or a company. The reasons are practical, and most of them come from the Income-tax Act, 2025.
- Gross receipts decide the presumptive scheme. Section 58(2), Table Sl. No. 3 lets a doctor declare 50% of receipts as profit up to ₹50 lakh, or up to ₹75 lakh where cash received is 5% or less of gross receipts. A clinic-only account shows the non-cash receipts in one statement.
- Section 58(9) treats a cheque or draft "which is not account payee" as cash for those limits. Deposit patient cheques into the clinic account so each one is visible.
- Large bills must come by bank mode. Section 186 bars cash receipts of ₹2,00,000 or more from one person in a day, for one transaction or for one event. See our post on the cash payment limit for doctors.
- TDS credits, rent and salaries reconcile against one account instead of a personal one.
- A partnership firm or company must bank in its own name anyway.
Which UPI QR should the desk use?
RBI's circular RBI/2020-21/59 (DPSS.CO.PD.No.497/02.14.003/2020-21), "Digital Payment Transactions – Streamlining QR Code infrastructure", 22 October 2020, says: "The two interoperable QR codes in existence – UPI QR and Bharat QR – shall continue as at present." Payment operators using proprietary QR codes had to move to interoperable ones by 31 March 2022, and "No new proprietary QR codes shall henceforth be launched by any PSO for any payment transaction." A QR from your bank or a payments provider should therefore be scannable by any UPI app.
| Option | What it is | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Personal UPI ID of the doctor | Payments land in the doctor's personal account | Mixes clinic and personal money. Not recommended once the clinic has its own account |
| Merchant UPI QR from the clinic's bank | Static QR linked to the clinic account, with merchant name | The name patients see on their screen should be the clinic's name; ask how payment confirmations reach the desk |
| QR from a payments provider | UPI QR (sometimes with card acceptance) settled to the clinic account | Settlement timing, any fees, and how refunds are made |
| Bharat QR | Interoperable QR standard recognised in the same RBI circular | Whether your bank offers it and whether it adds card acceptance by QR |
Whatever the provider, the desk needs a way to see that money arrived before the patient leaves: a sound box, a staff-held app with view-only access, or an SMS to a clinic phone. A screenshot on the patient's phone is not confirmation.
Does a clinic pay charges on UPI?
Until 2026, no. Section 10A of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007, inserted by the Finance (No. 2) Act, 2019, says no bank or system provider shall impose, directly or indirectly, any charge on a person making or receiving payment by the prescribed electronic modes. RBI's discussion paper on charges in payment systems (17 August 2022) records that "The Central Board of Direct Taxes notified RuPay debit cards and UPI as prescribed payment modes ... and the arrangement of zero charges came into effect from January 1, 2020."
In 2026 the Government moved to change that. A PIB release of 8 August 2026 said that once Parliament passes the Taxation and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026, amending section 10A, a steering committee headed by NPCI would decide on MDR. The Ministry of Finance's release of 15 September 2026 then described the new UPI framework.
| Payment | MDR | Words of the release |
|---|---|---|
| Person to person, any amount | None | "UPI will continue to remain completely free for all person-to-person transactions, irrespective of the amount transferred." |
| Person to merchant, up to ₹2,000 | None | "All person-to-merchant (P2M) transactions up to ₹2,000 will remain free of MDR." |
| Small merchants on UPI QR, P2PM category | None | "Small merchants including street vendors receiving up to ₹1 lakh per month through UPI QR codes under the Person-to-Person-Merchant (P2PM) category will continue to enjoy zero MDR on all transactions." |
| Person to merchant, above ₹2,000 | 0.4% | "A nominal MDR of 0.4% will apply only to P2M transactions above ₹2,000." |
| Person to merchant, ₹75,000 and above | 0.4%, capped | "For transactions of ₹75,000 and above, the MDR will be capped at ₹300 per transaction." |
Illustration only, using the rates in the release: a ₹500 consultation paid by UPI carries no MDR. A ₹3,000 procedure bill paid to a merchant QR outside the P2PM category carries 0.4%, which is ₹12. An ₹80,000 package carries 0.4% of ₹80,000, which is ₹320, capped at ₹300. The release does not give an effective date or define every category. Ask your bank which category your QR is in, from which date charges apply to it, and how they will be shown on the settlement statement.
The same release says "Banks have been advised to ensure that merchants do not pass MDR charges on to customers." Do not add a UPI surcharge to the patient's bill. Card charges, which work differently, are in our post on card machine charges for clinics.
How do you reconcile UPI at the end of the day?
- Record the mode and the UPI reference (UTR) on every receipt at the time of payment.
- At close, total the day's UPI receipts from the billing record.
- Match that total against the clinic account or the provider's settlement report for the same day. Settlement may be next day; match by date of payment, not date of credit.
- List any payment the patient says was made but the account does not show, with the UTR, and follow up next morning.
- Note refunds separately with the original UTR.
The full closing sheet, with cash and card, is in our post on closing the day across cash, UPI and card.
Questions
Can a doctor use a personal UPI QR for the clinic?
Nothing in the Income-tax Act forbids it, but it mixes clinic receipts with personal money, and gross receipts are what decide the presumptive scheme and the cash-share test in section 58(2). A merchant QR linked to a clinic-only account keeps them apart.
Is UPI free for clinics in 2026?
For payments up to ₹2,000, yes, per the Ministry of Finance release of 15 September 2026. Above ₹2,000 a 0.4% MDR applies to P2M payments, capped at ₹300 from ₹75,000, except for small merchants receiving up to ₹1 lakh a month via UPI QR in the P2PM category. Confirm the date and your category with your bank.
Can the clinic add a charge for UPI or card payments?
The 15 September 2026 release says banks have been advised to ensure that merchants do not pass MDR charges on to customers, and RBI's 2017 debit card circular says the same for debit cards.
Sources
- Reserve Bank of India, Digital Payment Transactions – Streamlining QR Code infrastructure, RBI/2020-21/59, DPSS.CO.PD.No.497/02.14.003/2020-21, 22 October 2020 (accessed 30 Oct 2026)
- Reserve Bank of India, Discussion Paper on Charges in Payment Systems, 17 August 2022, paragraphs 7.6 and 7.7 (accessed 30 Oct 2026)
- Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Finance, UPI Continues to Remain Free for Peer to Peer Transactions and 96% of Merchant Transactions, 15 September 2026 (Release ID 2310586) (accessed 30 Oct 2026)
- Press Information Bureau, Government statement on the amendment of section 10A of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 8 August 2026 (Release ID 2296594) (accessed 30 Oct 2026)
- Ministry of Law and Justice, The Income-tax Act, 2025 (No. 30 of 2025), Gazette of India Extraordinary, 21 August 2025: sections 58(2), 58(9), 186 (accessed 30 Oct 2026)
This is operational guidance for clinics, not legal or tax advice. Confirm with your state authority, council or CA.
Drafted with AI assistance; every fact checked against the sources listed; reviewed by the Vitels team.