Traders Call Off ‘No UPI Day’ Protest After Meeting FM Sitharaman

The All India Mobile Retailers Association and the All India Consumer Products Distributors Federation have ended their "No UPI Day" protest, which was set for October 2. This decision came after representatives from 20 trade associations met with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to discuss the potential impact of the UPI merchant discount rate (MDR) on small and medium businesses.

Led by Praveen Khandelwal, a BJP MP and secretary general of the Confederation of All India Traders, the delegation assured the finance minister that all issues would be addressed seriously. Consequently, the call for the "No UPI Day" protest on October 2 was withdrawn. The industry bodies had sought a postponement of the MDR ahead of the festive season and a restriction on merchant-to-merchant transactions.

They also proposed raising the monthly receipt limit for exemptions from the proposed regime to ₹5 Lakh. The minister assured that the government and traders' organizations would continue dialogues on various issues, including cybersecurity. The dispute revolves around the MDR policy, which was introduced on October 15, marking a move away from the zero-MDR regime implemented earlier to promote UPI payments.