{
  "id": 9744743,
  "title": "UPI MDR decision completely professional, no external pressure: FM Sitharaman",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/25/upi-mdr-decision-completely-professional-no-external-pressure-fm",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-09-25T09:52:44.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Hindu",
    "slug": "the-hindu",
    "url": "https://www.thehindu.com/business/upi-mdr-decision-completely-professional-no-external-pressure-fm-sitharaman/article71508065.ece"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has dismissed Opposition allegations that the 0.4% Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on UPI transactions above ₹2,000 was imposed under external pressure, stating it was a professional decision by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), payment banks, and merchant banks. She denied the opposition's claim that the government had yielded to foreign pressure, particularly from the U.S., and clarified that the MDR is not a tax or a cess, but a revenue-sharing mechanism among entities in the UPI ecosystem. Sitharaman also dismissed claims that the MDR is a tax on consumers, emphasizing that the collected amount will be shared among banks and other entities in the UPI ecosystem, with 40% going to customers' banks, 30% to payment gateways, 20% to the UPI app, and 10% to the sponsoring bank of the UPI app.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Economic Times Tech",
        "title": "UPI MDR decision completely professional, no external pressure: FM Sitharaman",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/25/upi-mdr-decision-completely-professional-no-external-pressure-fm-9745239",
        "published": "2026-09-25T09:26:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}