MDR Charges Likely After Diwali, Here's What Users Need To Know
The National Payments Corporation of India has delayed the implementation of Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) charges on UPI transactions until after the Diwali festival. The fee, intended to support infrastructure and cybersecurity, will apply to transactions over Rs 2,000.
Why it matters
This decision impacts millions of digital payment users and merchants in India, balancing the need for sustainable payment infrastructure with consumer spending habits during a major holiday.
Following a request from traders to delay UPI transaction charges, the rollout of Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) charges has been pushed to the second week of November, after Diwali. "Keeping in mind the festive season, the UPI and Services Steering Committee today (October 13) decided that MDR on select Person-to-Merchant (P2M) UPI transactions shall be implemented immediately post Diwali," NPCI said in a media statement on Tuesday. The new date of implementation will be notified later, the NPCI added.The earlier rollout date was October 15. However, it coincided with the festive shopping season, when consumer spending typically rises. Therefore, the rollout was delayed to give payment firms and consumers more time to update their systems and to address concerns about introducing the change during the festive season.Earlier in September, the UPI Steering Committee fixed the UPI MDR at 0.4 per cent for transactions above Rs 2,000.
Also covering this story
2 other newsrooms covered this event. We read each version separately.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in