‘Not a government issue’: FM Sitharaman explains where UPI MDR charge goes
Nirmala Sitharaman clarified that there will be no Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) charged by the government on UPI transactions. She reassured consumers that for transactions over Rs 2,000, the MDR will be covered by merchants and banks. According to NPCI’s Dilip Asbe, a significant 75 percent of UPI transactions remain unaffected by MDR. Most fees originate from larger businesses that incur higher…
Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has explained that the Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on UPI transactions is not a government charge, assuring consumers they will not be burdened with this cost. Sitharaman clarified that the MDR is borne by traders, merchants, bankers, and other entities involved in the payment ecosystem, not imposed by the government.
She emphasized that the MDR is a charge for services provided by various entities like NPCI, aggregators, POS machine providers, and merchant banks, and it does not go to the Consolidated Fund of India. The charge will be borne by the merchant for transactions above Rs 2,000, and it will not be reflected in the consumer's bill. NPCI managing director Dilip Asbe stated that the impact on consumers is likely to be around 10% of the overall MDR value, with a majority of transactions (75%) falling outside the MDR framework.
Written by urgent.news from Times of India's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
