Mobile retailers to observe ‘No UPI Day’ over new transaction fees

Mobile phone retailers in India are planning to observe ‘No UPI Day’ on October 2 to protest the implementation of a 0.4 percent Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on UPI transactions. Under the new rules effective October 15, merchants will be charged a 0.4 percent fee on UPI transactions exceeding 2,000 rupees, though peer-to-peer transfers and small payments remain exempt.

The All India Mobile Retailers Association (AIMRA) has called for the protest, stating that retailers will symbolically cover their UPI QR codes with black cloth and refuse to accept UPI payments on that day. Tarvinder Singh, Vice President of AIMRA, emphasized that the association is not protesting Digital India itself, but rather the financial burden placed on merchants.

In a memorandum sent to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, AIMRA estimated that small retailers processing between 5 lakh and 30 lakh rupees monthly through UPI could face losses of 2,000 to 12,000 rupees per month. The association projects that the 0.4 percent MDR will impose an annual burden of approximately 500 crore rupees on small mobile retailers across the country. AIMRA is demanding that UPI continue under a ‘zero MDR’ structure to support the digital ecosystem.