Is October 2 ‘No UPI Day’? What you need to know as trade bodies, mobile retailers call off MDR protest

The proposed ‘No UPI Day’ protest on October 2, Gandhi Jayanti, has been called off by AIMRA and AICPDF after their meeting with FM Nirmala Sitharaman. Here’s what the proposed 0.4% UPI MDR means, what retailers have sought and what customers should know.

The UPI Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) of 0.4% is set to apply from 15 October 2026 on specified merchant transactions above ₹2,000. The charge will be levied on the merchant and not directly on the customer making the UPI payment.

According to a PTI report, the All India Mobile Retailers Association (AIMRA) and the All India Consumer Products Distributors Federation (AICPDF) on Wednesday withdrew their proposed ‘No UPI Day’ protest planned for October 2, after a trade delegation met Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

So, is October 2 (Gandhi Jayanti) still a ‘No UPI Day’? Here’s what customers need to know.

What did the retailers say?

The mobile retailers’ association had earlier announced the ‘No UPI Day’ protest for October 2 to oppose the proposed 0.4% MDR on UPI transactions above ₹2,000. The association said the charge could add to the cost burden for small retailers, according to the PTI report.

“The delegation, led by BJP MP and CAIT secretary general Praveen Khandelwal and AIMRA founder chairman Kailash Lakhyani, submitted a joint representation, seeking deferment of the proposed MDR, a phased implementation and changes in the threshold for its applicability.”

The trade bodies also asked that merchant-to-merchant (M2M) transactions be kept outside the MDR framework. They further sought an expert committee to examine the concerns raised by the retail and distribution sectors.