19 September,2026 04:56 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
MNS chief Raj Thackeray. File pic
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Saturday accused the Union Government of laying a "digital trap" by introducing a Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on specified Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions after the Centre had publicly said in 2022 that there was no consideration to levy charges for UPI services.
In a lengthy post on X, Thackeray said the Centre first used demonetisation and subsequently UPI to encourage digital payments, creating a habit among citizens before introducing charges on certain transactions.
He questioned why the costs of running UPI, including infrastructure, maintenance and cybersecurity, were not incorporated into the Budget when the system was developed if the objective was to make payments easier.
Thackeray questioned whether merchants would absorb the 0.4 per cent MDR on purchases above Rs 2,000 or pass the cost on to customers. He asked what mechanism the government had in place to prevent merchants from doing so, and said there was "no" such mechanism.
The new framework provides for a 0.4 per cent MDR on specified person-to-merchant UPI transactions above Rs 2,000 from October 15. The government has said the charge will be borne by merchants and that customers will not be charged MDR.
Thackeray also referred to the Congress's claim that the decision was taken under pressure from the United States, saying he did not know whether this was the case.
He questioned whether the Centre had consulted anyone before introducing the MDR and asked whether it could deny concerns among foreign card companies and global payment networks.
Thackeray said the MNS had registered its protest against the MDR and called on traders to oppose the charge.
The MNS chief attached a two-part screenshot of posts from the Ministry of Finance's X handle, dated August 21, 2022.
The first post stated that UPI was a "digital public good" and said there was no consideration in the government to levy charges for UPI services. It added that the concerns of service providers regarding cost recovery would have to be addressed through other means.
The second post said the government had provided financial support to the digital payments ecosystem the previous year and had announced support again that year, while seeking to promote economical and user-friendly digital payment platforms.
Thackeray said he deliberately shared the screenshot to highlight the Centre's August 21, 2022 statement that there would be no charges for UPI services.
He argued that the distinction between person-to-person transfers and merchant payments did not address his broader concern and said citizens were now caught in a "digital trap".
The government has said person-to-person UPI transactions will remain free irrespective of the amount, while payments to merchants up to Rs 2,000 and transactions covered under the zero-MDR framework for small merchants will also remain free.
