Story perspectives

Trade bodies cancel “No UPI Day” protest after talks

By Drooid · Oct 1, 2026, 4:06 AM UTC · How we work

Summary

Story summary

Trade bodies cancelled the “No UPI Day” protest after meeting Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
20 trade leaders met the finance minister and received assurances their concerns would be considered.
India will impose a 0.4% merchant discount on UPI person-to-merchant payments above INR2,000 from 15 Oct 2026.
Trade bodies asked to defer the MDR and set it at 0.20% for FY 2026-27.
They also requested raising the threshold to INR5 lakh and exempting merchant-to-merchant payments.

History

Historical Context

India’s payment system, built by NPCI since its 2009 creation and launched as UPI in 2016, saw fees waived in 2019 before a Lok Sabha bill in August 2026 authorized a 0.4% merchant discount rate on UPI transactions above INR2,000. Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s meeting with trade leaders and NPCI revisits this fee framework to boost digital sales.

1 of 2

Story summary

Trade bodies cancelled the “No UPI Day” protest after meeting Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
20 trade leaders met the finance minister and received assurances their concerns would be considered.
India will impose a 0.4% merchant discount on UPI person-to-merchant payments above INR2,000 from 15 Oct 2026.
Trade bodies asked to defer the MDR and set it at 0.20% for FY 2026-27.
They also requested raising the threshold to INR5 lakh and exempting merchant-to-merchant payments.

1 / 2