Traders Withdraw ‘No UPI Day’ Protest After Meeting Finance Minister Sitharaman

September 30, 2026

New Delhi: Leading traders’ organisations have withdrawn their call to observe October 2 as “No UPI Day” following a meeting with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday.

A delegation of around 20 trade representatives from different states met Sitharaman to raise concerns over the proposed 0.4 per cent fee on eligible merchant UPI transactions above Rs 2,000. Traders argued that the proposed charge could increase costs for small and medium businesses and affect the adoption of digital payments among merchants.

The delegation was led by Praveen Khandelwal, MP from Chandni Chowk and secretary general of the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT).

Traders Withdraw October 2 Protest

Earlier, the All India Consumer Products Federation and the All India Mobile Retailers Association had announced plans to observe October 2 as “No UPI Day” in protest against the proposed fee.

However, the organisations decided to withdraw the protest call after their meeting with the Finance Minister.

Khandelwal said the decision followed constructive discussions with the government and assurances that the concerns raised by the trading community would be considered. He said traders would continue discussions with the government on the issue.

Proposed UPI Fee From October 15

Despite the withdrawal of the protest, the proposed 0.4 per cent fee on eligible merchant UPI transactions above Rs 2,000 is scheduled to come into effect from October 15.

Traders’ organisations have said they remain hopeful that their concerns will be addressed before the proposed charge is implemented.

Meanwhile, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) had earlier rejected reports suggesting that GST on UPI Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) would significantly burden small merchants.

NPCI said MDR applies only to person-to-merchant (P2M) transactions above Rs 2,000, while transactions up to Rs 2,000 continue to have zero MDR and therefore no GST impact from MDR.

Government data cited in the statement showed that transactions up to Rs 2,000 account for more than 96 per cent of UPI merchant transaction volume. As a result, most UPI payments would not attract MDR or GST on MDR.

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