Mobile phone retailers to protest against UPI MDR charges on October 2
Here's the latest protest news from across India:
Mobile phone retailers across India plan to observe October 2 as "No UPI Day" in protest against 0.4 per cent merchant discount rate charges on UPI transactions, a senior official of industry body AIMRA shared.
Adding to this, All India Mobile Retailers Association have revealed a protest against UPI MDR charges on October 2 (Reuters) The government has introduced a 0.4 per cent fee on UPI transfers exceeding ₹ 2,000 to merchants from October 15, while exempting person-to-person transactions as well as small payments from any charges.
Meanwhile, "The All India Mobile Retailers Association (AIMRA) has called for a 'NO UPI DAY' on October 2, 2026, to highlight the concerns of mobile retailers regarding the 0.4 per cent Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) applicable to eligible merchant UPI transactions," AIMRA Vice President and President for Delhi NCR region, Tarvinder Singh, shared in a note.
Notably, According to a representation sent to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman by AIMRA, the move to impose MDR on UPI will lead to an immediate net monthly loss of ₹ 2,000 to ₹ 12,000 for a small retailer processing ₹ 5 lakh to ₹ 30 lakh monthly via UPI, thereby wiping out a substantial portion of their net income.
As per the latest buzz, The mobile retailers' body estimates that 0.4 per cent MDR will impose an unsustainable burden of approximately ₹ 40 crore rupees per month and nearly ₹ 500 crore rupees per annum on small mobile retailers across India.
In further updates, "If We Want Digital India, UPI Must Remain Zero MDR. This is not a protest against UPI or Digital India. Our concern is the additional financial burden being placed on merchants who accept digital payments. If we want Digital India to grow further, digital payments should remain affordable for the entire retail ecosystem. Our clear demand is that UPI merchant payments should continue under a Zero MDR structure," Singh shared.
Source: Hindustan Times