‘No UPI Day’ on October 2: Why mobile retailers are protesting the new charge

Mobile phone retailers across India are planning to turn off UPI payments for a day, with the All India Mobile Retailers Association (AIMRA) calling October 2, 2026, a “No UPI Day” to protest the proposed 0.4 per cent Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on eligible merchant transactions.

The move will see participating retailers symbolically cover their UPI QR codes with black cloth and refrain from accepting UPI payments on Gandhi Jayanti, AIMRA Vice President and Delhi NCR president Tarvinder Singh said in a statement.

The protest comes ahead of the introduction of the 0.4 per cent fee on UPI transfers of more than Rs 2,000 made to merchants, which the government has said will take effect from October 15. Person-to-person transactions and small payments will remain exempt from the charge.

AIMRA has objected to the additional cost for retailers, saying it could directly affect the earnings of small mobile phone shops that rely heavily on digital payments.

In a representation to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the retailers' body estimated that a shop processing between Rs 5 lakh and Rs 30 lakh in monthly UPI transactions could face a net monthly loss of Rs 2,000 to Rs 12,000 under the 0.4 per cent MDR.

According to AIMRA's estimate, the charge could collectively cost small mobile retailers around Rs 40 crore every month, or nearly Rs 500 crore a year.

The association said its protest is not against UPI or digital payments, but against what it sees as an additional financial burden on merchants accepting them.

“If We Want Digital India, UPI Must Remain Zero MDR,” Singh said, reiterating AIMRA's demand that merchant UPI payments continue under a zero-MDR structure.

With PTI inputs