The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has postponed the implementation of Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) charges on certain UPI merchant transactions until the second week of November, citing concerns over possible difficulties during the festive season.
statement issued on Tuesday, October 13, NPCI said the decision was taken by the UPI Steering Committee. The charges were originally scheduled to come into effect on Thursday, but the implementation has been deferred to avoid adding pressure on merchants during the Diwali shopping period.
However, NPCI has not announced an exact date for the revised implementation. The organisation said it would issue another statement with further details. NPCI operates India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI), one of the country’s most widely used digital payment systems.
What Are the Proposed UPI Charges?
The UPI Steering Committee had decided last month to introduce an MDR charge of 0.4%, or 40 basis points, on eligible merchant transactions exceeding ₹2,000.
MDR is a fee paid by merchants for accepting digital payments. Under the proposed rate, a transaction worth ₹10,000 would attract a charge of ₹40, while a ₹5,000 transaction would attract ₹20, assuming the full transaction value is subject to the 0.4% rate.