Archive · 16 Sep 2026
UPI MDR Rules Trigger Political Clash Over Merchant Charges
New rules change how some UPI payments made to businesses are handled.
A 0.4% fee will apply to certain business payments above ₹2,000.
This fee is called MDR.
Payments between two people will still be free.
The government says businesses, not customers, should pay the fee.
Vijay Wadettiwar says the rules could take money from the public.
Deepak Ranjan says the BJP government is adding to people’s burdens.
The disagreement is about how the fee could affect businesses, customers, and digital payments.
A revised framework introduces a 0.4% MDR on specified P2M UPI transactions above ₹2,000.
Person-to-person UPI payments will remain free under the revised rules.
The government says MDR is a merchant-side charge and must not be passed to customers.
Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar called the framework a way of extracting money from people.
SP leader Deepak Ranjan accused the BJP government of repeatedly burdening the public.
- Who
- The government, Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar, and SP leader Deepak Ranjan are involved in the debate.
- What
- A revised UPI framework will apply a 0.4% MDR to specified P2M transactions above ₹2,000, while P2P payments remain free.
- When
- The articles do not specify a date; they refer to the revised framework and new rules.
- Why
- The rules are being debated because Opposition leaders raised concerns about their effect on businesses and the public, while the government said the charge should not be passed to customers.
Opposition criticism
Government position
Effect on the public
Opposition criticism
Vijay Wadettiwar alleged that the new framework would amount to extracting money from people, while Deepak Ranjan said the BJP government was putting an ongoing burden on the public.
Government position
The government clarified that MDR is charged on merchants and should not be passed on to customers.
Impact on businesses and payments
Opposition criticism
The Opposition raised concerns about how the rules could affect businesses and the public using digital payments.
Government position
The framework retains free person-to-person UPI payments and applies the 0.4% MDR only to specified merchant transactions above ₹2,000.
- Affected payments
- Specified Person-to-Merchant UPI transactions above ₹2,000
- MDR rate
- 0.4%
- Person-to-person payments
- Remain free
- Who should pay MDR
- The government says it is a merchant-side charge and should not be passed on to customers.
- Vijay Wadettiwar’s criticism
- He alleged the framework would amount to extracting money from people.
- Deepak Ranjan’s criticism
- He accused the BJP government of continuously burdening the public.