Mobile retailers plan nationwide protest over UPI merchant fees
The All India Mobile Retailers Association says retailers will observe a “No UPI Day” on October 2 to oppose a 0.4% Merchant Discount Rate on eligible UPI payments above ₹2,000. The association says the charge could reduce small retailers’ incomes and is seeking continuation of zero-cost merchant UPI transactions.
Mobile phone retailers across India plan to stop accepting UPI payments on October 2 in protest against a proposed 0.4% Merchant Discount Rate on eligible merchant transactions, the All India Mobile Retailers Association said. AIMRA Vice-President and Delhi-NCR president Tarvinder Singh said the association had called the day “No UPI Day” to highlight retailers’ concerns. The protest will coincide with Gandhi Jayanti.
According to Mr. Singh, participating retailers will symbolically cover their UPI QR codes with black cloth and refrain from accepting UPI payments. The association said the government has introduced the charge for UPI transfers above ₹2,000 to merchants from October 15, while person-to-person payments and small transactions would remain exempt.
In a representation to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, AIMRA estimated that a small retailer processing ₹5 lakh to ₹30 lakh in monthly UPI payments could face a net monthly loss of ₹2,000 to ₹12,000. It said the additional cost could remove a substantial share of retailers’ net income. The association estimated the proposed rate would impose a burden of about ₹40 crore a month, or nearly ₹500 crore annually, on small mobile retailers across India.
These figures were presented as AIMRA’s estimates. Mr. Singh said the protest was not against UPI or digital payments, but against the financial burden on merchants.
AIMRA’s stated demand is that merchant UPI payments should continue under a zero-MDR structure.
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