Traders across Madhya Pradesh cover QR codes in protest against UPI fee

Traders across Madhya Pradesh observed a ‘No UPI Day’ on Wednesday by covering shop QR codes with black cloth and urging customers to pay in cash. They are protesting a proposed 0.4 per cent merchant discount rate on UPI transactions above Rs 2,000

Indore: Traders across Madhya Pradesh observed a ‘No UPI Day’ on Wednesday to protest the Centre’s decision to impose a 0.4 per cent merchant discount rate (MDR) on UPI transactions above Rs 2,000 by covering QR codes at their shops with black cloth.

The protesters appealed to customers to make payments in cash.

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Ramesh Khandelwal, president of the Ahilya Chamber of Commerce and Industry, a federation of trade organisations, claimed that members in Indore, Bhopal, Jabalpur, Gwalior, Ratlam, Neemuch, Mandsaur and Jaora participated in the campaign.

According to the central government, an MDR of 0.4 per cent will be levied on person-to-merchant transactions above Rs 2,000 from October 15. No MDR will be levied on UPI transactions up to Rs 2,000.

Khandelwal said traders were not against the government but questioned why an additional burden was being placed on them if the money collected through MDR was not going to the government treasury.

According to Khandelwal, who represents Madhya Pradesh on the National Traders Welfare Board, a central government advisory body, nearly 125 business organisations in Indore, the state’s financial capital, participated in the ‘No UPI Day’ campaign.

Citing the broader interests of traders and consumers, Akshay Jain, president of the Indore Retail Garments Association, said the Centre should immediately withdraw the decision to impose a 0.4 per cent MDR on UPI transactions exceeding Rs 2,000.

Jain said that if the decision was not withdrawn before October 15, traders would “immerse UPI QR code machines” in water bodies.

The government has clarified that customers will not be charged any additional amount due to the changes to the UPI (Unified Payments Interface) system, which remained fee-free for nearly six years.

“Customers will not have to pay any fee for making such payments through UPI,” the Finance Ministry had said in an earlier statement.