The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has decided to defer the implementation of Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on select Person-to-Merchant (P2M) UPI transactions until after Diwali, keeping in view the ongoing festive season.
In an official statement issued on Tuesday, NPCI said its UPI and Services Steering Committee had decided that MDR on select merchant transactions would be implemented immediately after Diwali, with the revised implementation date to be notified separately.The announcement has drawn opposition from traders, who have reiterated their demand for zero MDR on UPI payments.
Traders maintained that merely postponing the implementation would not address their concerns and insisted that UPI transactions should remain free of MDR for merchants.Reiterating their stand, traders asserted, “Nothing less than zero MDR for traders on UPI payments. Deferment is not a solution. Zero MDR is our goal.”The proposed introduction of MDR on select merchant transactions has raised concerns among traders over additional transaction costs and the potential financial burden on businesses accepting digital payments.
While NPCI has provided temporary relief by deferring the implementation until after Diwali, the demand for a permanent zero-MDR policy on UPI merchant payments remains unresolved.