Pune: Two traders’ guilds in the city will observe “No UPI Day” on Friday in protest against the fee proposed on merchant payments over Rs 2,000 made through Unified Payments Interface.Poona Merchants Chamber has 600 wholesalers and 10,000 retailers among its members, while Federation of Trade Associations of Pune boasts 30,000 members. The two bodies have urged their members and other traders’ associations to ensure participation in the protest.Participating traders will not disable their UPI machines, but simply not accept payments, the two bodies added. Traders said they expect regular footfalls.The protest comes just after two national trade bodies, All India Consumer Products Distributors Federation and All India Mobile Retailers Association, deferred their decision to observe a ‘No UPI Day’ after meeting with finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday.“The decision to levy MDR on UPI payments is harmful for trade and the consumers will indirectly have to bear the cost,” said Fatechand Ranka, president, Federation of Trade Associations of Pune.Rajendra Bathiya, president of Poona Merchants Chamber, said he hoped this one-day abstinence will prompt Centre to reconsider the charge. “There has been a lot of opposition, but govt has not softened its stance. We are just asking govt to reconsider,” he added.They said that traders’ associations will continue to pursue the matter with govt.On Sept 15, National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) announced MDR of 0.4% on UPI transactions over Rs 2,000 made by consumers to merchants. It exempted small businesses with an average monthly transaction volume of less than Rs 1 lakh and placed a Rs 300 cap on high-value transactions over Rs 75,000.
