Pune traders will join a nationwide ‘No UPI Day’ protest on October 2, with the Poona Merchants Chamber appealing to business owners across the city to avoid accepting UPI payments in opposition to a proposed Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on selected transactions above Rs 2,000.
The Chamber announced its participation in the protest and asked traders and city-based traders’ associations to inform their members and encourage them to take part. The proposed UPI charge regime is scheduled to come into effect from October 15, according to the Chamber and its president, Rajendra Bathia.
Under the new framework, a 0.4 per cent MDR will apply to specified person-to-merchant UPI transactions above Rs 2,000. The charge will be capped at Rs 300 for transactions of Rs 75,000 and above. Small merchants with monthly UPI QR-code transactions of up to Rs 1 lakh will remain exempt under the proposed arrangement.
Bathia said the Chamber was supporting trader associations that have raised concerns about the additional cost. “We are paying GST, and now this additional UPI charge would be an added burden for traders,” he said, according to The Indian Express. He appealed to Pune traders to participate in the protest by not using UPI on October 2.
The proposed MDR would affect the payment arrangements used by merchants for person-to-merchant transactions, while the exemption for small merchants is linked to the value of their monthly UPI QR-code transactions. The reported structure therefore distinguishes between smaller merchants and transactions above the specified threshold, with the highest cap applying to transactions of Rs 75,000 and above.
The Chamber said its decision was intended to support the position taken by traders’ associations across the country. According to its press release, these associations will continue to pursue the matter with the government. The October 2 protest is the immediate action announced by the Chamber before the proposed framework’s scheduled implementation on October 15.
