Traders’ organisations postpone 2 Oct UPI ban after govt talks:Urge Centre to postpone 15 Oct deadline in view of festive season

Major traders’ organisations across the country have withdrawn their decision to observe 2 October as ‘No UPI Day’. The decision was taken after a delegation of trader leaders met Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in New Delhi on Wednesday. However, the proposed 0.4% fee on merchant payments of more than ₹2,000 is still scheduled to come into effect from 15 October. 20 senior trader leaders meet Finance Minister A delegation of around 20 senior trader leaders from various states across the country met Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in New Delhi. The meeting was led by Chandni Chowk MP and Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) National Secretary-General Praveen Khandelwal. The call for the protest and ‘No UPI Day’ was made by the All India Consumer Products Federation and the All India Mobile Retailers Association. During the meeting, the trader leaders expressed concern over the potential impact of the proposed fee on small and medium-sized businesses. Protest withdrawn after talks and assurances Speaking to the media, Praveen Khandelwal said that a highly constructive discussion had taken place with the Finance Minister. The government has assured them that the demands and concerns raised by the trading community will be duly considered. Khandelwal said that following this positive assurance, the two major organisations had decided to withdraw their decision to observe 2 October as ‘No UPI Day’. Call to defer charges in view of the festive season The delegation urged the government to defer the implementation of the proposed Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) for the time being, keeping in mind the upcoming festive season and increased business activity in the market. Trade organisations stressed that the proposed MDR would have the greatest impact on small and medium-sized businesses (MSMEs). Along with maintaining the momentum of digital payments, it is also essential to ensure that merchants do not face any additional financial burden. Suggestion to raise threshold limit from ₹1 lakh to ₹5 lakh Traders have called for a review of the ₹1 lakh threshold limit set under the proposed framework. They have suggested that the government should raise the limit to ₹5 lakh. At the same time, traders’ organisations also demanded that merchant-to-merchant (M2M) transactions – those taking place between one trader and another – be kept completely outside the scope of MDR. Special committee should be formed to examine the problems Trader leaders urged the government to form a special committee to examine all the concerns and practical problems faced by traders. The committee should study the situation and suggest a practical way forward. Finance Minister says interests of all stakeholders will be protected According to a statement issued by CAIT, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman assured the delegation that the government was fully committed to promoting digital transactions. The government was also determined to ensure the protection of the interests of all relevant stakeholders. ‘Full support for Digital India, policy must be balanced’ Trader leaders reiterated their full support for the Digital India Mission and the unprecedented success of UPI. They said that UPI had emerged as a “global model” in the field of digital payments. The delegation made it clear that its objective was not to oppose digital payments, but to ensure that the related policies were balanced, inclusive and conducive to the growth of both consumers and businesses. They expressed hope that continued dialogue would lead to the development of a practical and sustainable framework that would safeguard the interests of millions of traders and MSMEs across the country.