UPI MDR decision completely professional, no external pressure: FM Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has rejected as "absolutely baseless" allegations by the Opposition that the decision to levy a 0.4% Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on specified UPI transactions above ₹2,000 was taken under external pressure, saying it was a professional decision by the payment ecosystem.

Talking to PTI , Ms. Sitharaman said the decision was completely professional, and it was taken jointly by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), payment banks and merchant banks, and not imposed by the government.

She rubbished the Opposition's allegations that the government had yielded to foreign pressure, saying the MDR was not a tax and would not accrue to the government.

"Absolutely baseless. And I totally deny it," she said when asked about Opposition allegations that the decision on Unified Payments Interface (UPI) MDR was taken under external pressure, particularly from the U.S..