Nirmala Sitharaman says new UPI MDR will not affect customers
Business
Good news if you use UPI: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman just confirmed that the new Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) policy won't hit your wallet.
Payments under ₹2,000 are totally exempt, and even for larger transactions, any MDR fee is for merchants only, not customers.
So, no surprise deductions when you pay with your favorite app.
Merchants face MDR 0.4% above ₹2,000
The MDR is a 0.4% charge on payments over ₹2,000 made to merchants (with a maximum of ₹300 per transaction), starting October 15.
It helps cover the costs of running the UPI system but doesn't go to the government's main funds.
Some businesses worry about their margins shrinking, but Sitharaman called out misinformation and stressed that regular users won't be affected at all.