Brief by Shorts91 Newsdesk / 11:13am on 16 Sep 2026,Wednesday Politics
The Congress has alleged that the Centre introduced the new UPI Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) framework under pressure from the United States. The party questioned whether the move could help American payment companies compete with UPI. Under the new framework, a 0.4% MDR will apply to specified merchant UPI transactions above ₹2,000 from October 15, with the charge paid within the merchant payment ecosystem. The government says customers will not pay MDR and person-to-person UPI payments will remain free. It also says around 96% of merchant transactions will remain unaffected. The BJP has accused the Opposition of spreading misinformation. (PC: India Today)
