Indore Traders To Observe 'No UPI Payment Day' On September 23 Over 0.4% MDR Charges

Indore (Madhya Pradesh): Anguished by imposition of Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on the payments made using UPI, scheduled from October 15, on the payments made above Rs 2,000, the traders of the city have decided to observe 'No UPI Payment Day' on Sept 23. Also, they have decided not to accept the UPI payments above Rs 2,000 from Oct 15.

The decision in this regard was taken in a special meeting held under the aegis of Ahilya Chamber of Commerce and Industries here on Friday. The office-bearers of over 100 different traders' organisations of the city participated in the meeting. Ramesh Khandelwal, president of Ahilya Chamber of Commerce and Industry, stated that to protest against the upcoming charges on UPI payments. Representatives from over 100 trade associations participated in the meeting.

Addressing the gathering, Khandelwal stated that these charges would prove to be a major obstacle in realising the vision of 'Digital India.' All traders unanimously voiced strong opposition to these charges. Kailash Mugad, Akshay Jain, Pratipal Tongya, Anil Ranka, Gopaldas Agrawal, Narendra Bafna, Ankur Jain, and Rajesh Baheti shared their views during the meeting.

It may be pointed out that UPI users will see a new merchant discount rate (MDR) framework from Oct 15, 2026, but the change does not mean that every payment above ?2,000 will become chargeable. The new framework applies to specified person-to-merchant (P2M) transactions, while customers themselves will not be charged MDR.