Mobile retailers will temporarily suspend UPI payments and cover their QR codes on October 2 as part of a nationwide protest against the proposed MDR on merchant transactions.
The All India Mobile Retailers Association has called for a nationwide “No UPI Day” on October 2, urging mobile phone retailers to stop accepting UPI payments for a day in protest against the proposed merchant charges.
ALSO READ: Ahead Of Three Day Nationwide Strike, Public Sector Banks Remain Open Today
The October 2 action is part of a broader protest by several trade groups against the proposed MDR. The protest will come ahead of the new MDR regime, under which a 0.4 per cent fee will apply to specified person-to-merchant UPI transactions above Rs 2,000 from October 15.
The charge will be capped at Rs 300 per transaction, while person-to-person transfers and eligible merchant payments up to Rs 2,000 will remain outside the levy.
AIMRA Vice President, and President Delhi-NCR Tarvinder Singh said participating retailers would cover their UPI QR codes with black cloth and suspend UPI payment acceptance for the day as a symbolic protest on Gandhi Jayanti.
The association has raised concerns about the impact of the MDR on retailers operating on relatively thin margins.
According to a representation submitted to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, AIMRA estimates that a retailer processing between Rs 5 lakh and Rs 30 lakh in monthly UPI transactions could face an additional monthly cost of Rs 2,000 to Rs 12,000.
The association estimates that the proposed charge could result in a combined burden of around Rs 40 crore a month, or nearly Rs 500 crore annually, for small mobile retailers across the country.
ALSO READ: Who Absorbs UPI MDR? NSE CEO Rules Out Govt Talks As 0.02% Fee On Capital Markets Nears Kickoff
Singh said the protest was not directed against UPI or digital payments but against the additional cost for merchants. “If we want Digital India to grow further, digital payments should remain affordable for the entire retail ecosystem,” he said, reiterating AIMRA's demand that merchant UPI payments continue under a zero-MDR structure.
(With Inputs from PTI)
Essential Business Intelligence, Sharp Market Insights, Practical Personal Finance Advice, Daily Fuel, Gold and Silver Prices and Latest Stories — On NDTV Profit.