Indore (Madhya Pradesh): Protesting the move to impose Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on accepting payments made using UPI over certain limits, over 100 different traders’ organisations of the city will observe ‘No UPI Day’ on Wednesday.
As per the call, they will not accept any payment via UPI and will cover their QC scanner with a black cloth.
The call for ‘No UPI Day’ on September 23 is given by Ahilya Chamber of Commerce, which is an apex representative organisation of over 125 different traders’ organisations of the city.
Ramesh Khandelwal, the president of Ahilya Chamber, says that the move by the government of India is an anti-digital India drive and ease of doing business for traders.
Already, we are doing business at very thin margins, and the levy of MDR from traders is a business climate-spoiling initiative.
On the eve of the call, the city trade associations intensified their promotional campaign for the ‘No UPI Day’ scheduled for September 23, in protest against the proposed charges on large-value UPI merchant transactions.
In support of the call made by the Ahilya Chambers of Commerce,Indore Retail Garments Association launched a campaign utilising posters, call centres, and social media on Tuesday. The campaign aims to reach one million people which is kicked off today.
Akshay Jain, President of the Indore Retail Garments Association, stated that ‘No UPI Day’ posters are being put up in the city’s markets.
Traders are being contacted directly via call centres, while information about the campaign is being disseminated to both traders and general consumers through social media.
He emphasised that the objective of the campaign is not to create an atmosphere against UPI itself, but to highlight traders’ concerns regarding the proposed merchant charges.
There are apprehensions that additional fees on high-value merchant transactions will increase operational costs for traders. Such added costs could have a significant impact, particularly in low-margin retail businesses.