Maharashtra: 20,000 traders to reject UPI payments on October 2, call it No UPI Day

Trader organisations in Maharashtra have announced a No UPI Day on October 2 to protest the proposed Merchant Discount Rate, or MDR, on UPI transactions. According to the Maharashtra Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (MCCIA), around 20,000 traders in the state are expected to join the protest. Shopkeepers taking part may choose to accept only cash instead of UPI that day.

Traders are not opposed to the UPI service itself but to the 0.4 percent MDR charge that will apply on merchant UPI transactions above Rs 2,000. According to the central government and the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the new system will come into effect from October 15, 2026. The maximum MDR on transactions of Rs 75,000 or more has been capped at Rs 300.

MCCIA president Ravindra Mangave said the additional charge could raise the cost of doing business, particularly for small and medium traders. This is why trader organisations are demanding that the charge be withdrawn.

Shops joining No UPI Day will not accept UPI payments on October 2. Customers shopping that day may need to carry cash or another payment method. Some traders may also register their protest by covering their UPI QR codes, scanners and sound boxes with black cloth.

This does not mean UPI services will stop across Maharashtra. The protest is being called by trader organisations, so whether UPI is available to customers will depend on whether a particular shop is participating.

The central government has clarified that customers will not be charged MDR for UPI payments. MDR is a charge between the merchant and the payment ecosystem. Person-to-person (P2P) UPI transactions will continue without any charge regardless of amount, and merchant transactions up to Rs 2,000 will also remain exempt from MDR. According to the government, around 96 percent of person-to-merchant (P2M) UPI transactions will be unaffected by the charge.

Even before Maharashtra, trader organisations in other states had called for a No UPI Day on October 2 against the proposed MDR. In Maharashtra, several trader organisations besides MCCIA have backed the protest.

UPI services will not shut down across the country, but UPI payments will not be available with traders taking part in the protest on October 2. Customers shopping that day would do well to keep an alternative payment option ready.

In all, around 20,000 traders in Maharashtra are set to join No UPI Day on October 2, 2026, mainly in protest against the proposed MDR due to take effect from October 15. Customers should not assume UPI will be unavailable everywhere, but it would help to check in advance what payment options a particular shop will accept that day.