Archive · 7 Aug 2026
UPI MDR Debate: Will Parliament Bill Burden Merchants Or Consumers?
UPI is a payment system in India that lets people send and receive money quickly using their phones.
Right now, sending money with UPI is usually free for people.
The government is thinking about changing a law that controls how payments work in India.
This change involves something called the Merchant Discount Rate, or MDR for short.
MDR is a small fee that businesses may pay when customers use digital payments.
Some people worry that if this fee is added to UPI, merchants will have to pay more.
Others worry that merchants will pass that cost to customers, making things more expensive.
The show 'Decoding Now' explained this debate in a simple way.
It asked the big question: who should pay for UPI payments?
The answer will matter for shops, customers, and the future of digital payments in India.
Times Now's 'Decoding Now' with Meghna Deka analyzed proposed changes to the Payment and Settlement Systems Act.
The segment centered on the debate over the Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) for UPI transactions.
The key question raised was whether MDR would burden merchants or consumers.
Concerns were discussed about whether UPI transactions will remain as seamless and affordable as before.
The analysis examined the bill's possible impact on India's digital payments ecosystem and Digital India.
- Who
- Merchants, consumers, and Parliament, with analysis by Meghna Deka on Times Now's 'Decoding Now'.
- What
- A debate over proposed changes to the Payment and Settlement Systems Act and the Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on UPI transactions.
- When
- Not specified in the article.
- Where
- India.
- Why
- To examine how the proposed bill could affect UPI costs for merchants and consumers and the future of India's digital payments ecosystem.
Consumers could bear the burden
Merchants could bear the burden
Who pays for MDR on UPI?
Consumers could bear the burden
Consumers may end up paying more if merchants pass the cost of a new MDR charge onto them, making UPI transactions less affordable.
Merchants could bear the burden
Merchants are the ones who pay Merchant Discount Rate fees to accept digital payments, so the burden would fall on them directly.
- Topic
- Debate over Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on UPI transactions
- Trigger
- Proposed changes to the Payment and Settlement Systems Act
- Key Question
- Will MDR burden merchants or consumers?
- Program
- Decoding Now
- Host
- Meghna Deka
- Channel
- Times Now
- Country
- India
- Related Topics
- Digital India, fintech, payments, economy