The implementation of the merchant discount rate (MDR) on select Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions has been pushed beyond Diwali. A final date will be communicated soon to stakeholders, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) said in a statement on Tuesday.
\n\nThe NPCI framework was scheduled to take effect on October 15, and it prescribed a 0.4% fee on eligible bank account-funded merchant payments above Rs 2,000, capped at Rs 300 per transaction.
\n\n“UPI and Services Steering Committee today decided that, keeping in mind the festive season, Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on select Person-to-Merchant (P2M) UPI transactions, shall be implemented immediately post Diwali at a date to be notified separately,” the NPCI said in a statement.
\n\nAfter the announcement of imposing the MDR on UPI, merchant bodies, fintechs and payments companies had requested the NPCI to postpone the implementation. They cited concerns over consumer sentiment ahead of festival sales, varying MDR rates, policies and their applicability across different UPI transactions.
\n\nEarlier, the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said that the MDR on UPI transactions will be handled by stakeholders, leaving the decision on when the charges will be levied to the payments ecosystem.
\n\nThe October-December period is traditionally…
Original source: https://www.timesnownews.com/business-economy
