Stakeholders Urge Earlier Implementation of UPI MDR Ahead of Festive Sales

Ahead of the Diwali shopping surge, merchant groups, fintech firms, and payment aggregators jointly appealed to the NPCI for an accelerated rollout of the UPI Merchant Discount Rate. Their petition argued that clarity on the fee structure before the festive period would help merchants plan pricing and promotional strategies more effectively.

The coalition highlighted that uncertainty around MDR could potentially disrupt sales momentum, as businesses might hesitate to promote UPI as a payment option without knowing the final cost implications.

In response, the UPI and Services Steering Committee convened on Tuesday and decided to defer the MDR activation until after Diwali, citing the need to avoid any adverse impact on consumer spending during the peak season.

Industry representatives welcomed the postponement but reiterated the desire for a confirmed calendar date. They stressed that a transparent timeline would enable smoother integration of the fee into merchant accounting systems.

The NPCI assured that a detailed implementation schedule would be communicated soon, and reiterated that the MDR will remain a merchant‑only charge, prohibited from being passed on to end‑users.