Traders’ associations call off ‘No UPI Day’ protest on October 2 after Finance Minister Sitharaman’s assurance | Today’s news

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Traders’ bodies have called off their ‘No UPI Day’ protest that was scheduled to be held on Friday, October 2, after a meeting with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today, PTI reported quoting officials.

All India Mobile Retailers Association (AIMRA) and All India Consumer Products Distributors Federation (AICPDF) said in an official statement on Wednesday, September 30 that the ‘No UPI Day’ protest has been called off.

The Mobile Retailers Association has called for a ‘No UPI Day’ on October 2 to protest against the Centre’s proposed 0.4% merchant discount rate (MDR) on the above UPI transactions. ₹2,000, which is set to come into effect from October 15, saying the levy would further burden small retailers.

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As part of the protest, retailers across the country have been suggested to cover their UPI QR codes, sound boxes and payment scanners with black cloth to symbolically register their opposition to the MDR charges, the association said in a statement.

‘No UPI Day’ protest called off: What happened?

A business delegation led by BJP MP and Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) general secretary Praveen Khandelwal and AIMRA founder chairman Kailas Lakhyan made a joint representation to the minister.

  • They sought the postponement of the proposed MDR and its gradual implementation and changes in its applicability threshold, he added.
  • They also demanded exemption of merchant-to-merchant (M2M) transactions from the MDR and
  • Establishment of an expert commission to examine the interests of the retail and distribution sector.

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  • Instead of an immediate 0.40% MDR, the delegation proposed that the fee be introduced at 0.20% in FY 2026-2027 and increase by 0.05 percentage points annually until it reaches 0.40%.
  • Trade bodies also sought to increase the proposed ₹1 lakh threshold for MDR applicability to be increased ₹5 lakh, with the move taking into account the transaction patterns of merchants, the statement said.

PTI reported that Sitharaman heard the traders’ concerns and assured the delegation that the issues would be properly considered and addressed. After the assurance, AIMRA and AICPDF decided to withdraw their protest, the associations said in a statement.

AIMRA had earlier said the proposed MDR would affect the “already low” profit margins of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), merchants and independent retailers who rely on digital payments for day-to-day transactions.

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NPCI Releases MDR Framework: What Changes?

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) announced on September 15 that the MDR charge would be applicable on select UPI transactions, adding that there would be “no impact on any person-to-person transactions”.

As per the official release, 0.4% MDR will be introduced for the above Person-to-Merchant (P2M) UPI transactions from October 15 ₹2,000, with fees limited to ₹300 per transaction for transactions of Rs ₹75,000 and above.

A finance ministry statement reasoned that since UPI will continue to be completely free for all P2P transactions, regardless of the amount transferred, “70% of the total transaction value will remain completely outside the scope of MDR” and nearly 96% of business transactions will remain free.

  • Here’s a look at the changes for merchants:

– An MDR of 0.4% will apply to the above P2M transactions ₹2000.

– For transactions with ₹75,000 and above, MDR will be limited to ₹300 per transaction.

– the above transactions ₹2,000 in critical and low-margin sectors including railways, telecom, insurance, fuel and agricultural inputs will attract a flat MDR of ₹5 per transaction.

– Payments relating to mutual funds, securities, stockbrokers and traders will have an MDR of 0.02% with a maximum limit ₹300 per transaction.

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