Kerala’s hotel and restaurant association says establishments will stop accepting UPI payments above ₹2,000 starting October 15. The move follows a dispute over proposed merchant charges tied to a 0.4% merchant discount rate (MDR) for certain UPI transactions, which the association says would raise costs for small businesses.
Multiple outlets report that the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) is deferring the rollout of the 0.4% MDR framework. In light of the deferral, one report says the planned UPI-payment boycott is postponed until after Deepavali/Diwali, while other coverage describes the cutoff as still set for October 15. The core issue across sources remains the association’s concern that the MDR would increase the financial burden on smaller establishments, prompting a limitation on higher-value UPI payments.
