No UPI Day: Mobile Retailers Announce No UPI Day Over Proposed MDR Charges
Mobile phone retailers across India will observe No UPI Day on October 2, protesting the proposed MDR on eligible payments above Rs 2,000 and seeking zero charges for merchants nationwide.
No UPI Day: Mobile phone retailers across India are preparing to switch off UPI payments for a day as part of a nationwide protest against the proposed Merchant Discount Rate (MDR). The All India Mobile Retailers Association (AIMRA) has called October 2, Gandhi Jayanti, as No UPI Day.
Retailers plan to cover their UPI QR codes with black cloth and refrain from accepting UPI payments during the protest. AIMRA says the move is meant to highlight the financial pressure the new charges could place on retailers who depend heavily on digital payments.
Under the new framework, a 0.4 percent MDR is scheduled to apply from October 15 to specified UPI payments made to merchants above Rs 2,000. Person to person transfers and smaller payments are not covered by the charge.
AIMRA Vice President Tarvinder Singh said the proposed fee could have a noticeable impact on small mobile retailers. According to the association, a retailer processing between Rs 5 lakh and Rs 30 lakh through UPI every month could face an additional loss of around Rs 2,000 to Rs 12,000.
The retailers’ body has also estimated that the proposed MDR could result in a combined burden of about Rs 40 crore every month for small mobile retailers across the country, taking the annual impact close to Rs 500 crore. These figures are estimates provided by AIMRA.
The association is asking that merchant UPI payments continue under a zero MDR system. Singh said retailers are not against digital payments themselves, but want the cost of accepting UPI to remain manageable for businesses.
The proposed changes have already triggered discussion among several trade groups. Other business and retail associations have also announced plans to participate in the October 2 protest, with some planning to cover QR codes, sound boxes and other UPI related devices as a symbolic measure.
For customers, the proposed MDR is not designed as a direct charge on ordinary UPI users. The fee is structured around eligible merchant transactions, with small payments and person to person transfers remaining outside the charge framework.
The October 2 protest will therefore put the spotlight on the growing debate over who should bear the cost of India’s expanding digital payment ecosystem. Mobile retailers are hoping the demonstration will push authorities to reconsider the MDR structure before its scheduled implementation on October 15.
