Daijiworld Media Network – New Delhi

New Delhi, Sep 28: Mobile phone retailers across India will observe October 2 as “No UPI Day” to protest the proposed 0.4% Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on eligible merchant UPI transactions, the All India Mobile Retailers Association (AIMRA) said.

The protest will be held on Gandhi Jayanthi, with retailers planning to symbolically cover their UPI QR codes with black cloth and refrain from accepting UPI payments for the day.

AIMRA vice president and Delhi-NCR president Tarvinder Singh said the move was aimed at highlighting concerns among mobile retailers over the financial burden of the proposed MDR.

The government has introduced a 0.4% fee on UPI transfers above Rs 2,000 to merchants from October 15. Person-to-person transactions and small payments will remain exempt from the charges.

In a representation to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, AIMRA said the MDR would result in an immediate net monthly loss of Rs 2,000 to Rs 12,000 for small retailers processing between Rs 5 lac and Rs 30 lac through UPI every month.

The association said the additional cost could wipe out a substantial portion of small retailers’ net income.

AIMRA estimates that the 0.4% MDR could impose a financial burden of around Rs 40 crore per month, or nearly Rs 500 crore annually, on small mobile retailers across India.

Singh said the protest was not against UPI or digital payments but against the additional cost for merchants. He called for UPI merchant payments to continue under a zero-MDR structure, saying digital payments should remain affordable for the entire retail ecosystem.