RBI says no decision yet on merchant discount rates for select UPI payments
RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra said no decision has been taken on introducing merchant discount rates for select UPI transactions. Proposed legal changes could lift restrictions on charging MDR for notified electronic payment modes, potentially affecting merchant payment costs.
RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra said no decision has been made on introducing merchant discount rates for select UPI payments. Proposed legal amendments could remove restrictions on banks and payment providers charging MDR on notified electronic payment modes.
Why this matters
The signal follows Bernstein's estimate of 30–40 bps UPI MDR on high-value merchant payments and RBI's prior statement that users already absorb payment costs, keeping merchant-fee policy unresolved.
Retail-company signals are accelerating, up 164544% QoQ.