‘Customers will end up paying’: Bengaluru CEO weighs in on UPI MDR debate
The Centre’s decision to impose a merchant discount rate (MDR) on UPI payments above ₹2,000 made to merchants has sparked a heated debate online. On social media, thousands of people have raised concerns that the MDR would eventually be passed on to customers, increasing the cost of everyday purchases. Bengaluru-based entrepreneur Siddharth Dialani said as much in an X post shared yesterday.Siddharth Dialani is the founder and CEO of BharatAgriWhat is MDR?MDR is a small fee that merchants pay to banks and payment companies each time a customer makes a digital payment. In reality, many merchants pass on MDR to customers. UPI had been exempt from MDR since 2020, a policy choice meant to push India away from cash and towards digital payments. However, now, a “nominal MDR of 0.4% will be levied on P2M transactions above ₹2,000”, says the government notification.(Also read:
