Traders during their protest march in Kolhapur city on Friday
The Kolhapur Chamber of Commerce and Industries (KCCI), the apex body representing various trading associations in the district, had urged traders to stop accepting UPI payments in protest against the proposed 0.4% Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on UPI transactions above Rs2,000. The charge, scheduled to come into effect from Oct 15, will be borne by merchants, while customers will not be charged directly.
Kolhapur : The call by traders’ associations to observe “No UPI , Only Cash Day” in Kolhapur on Friday received a mixed response, with several small traders and vendors continuing to accept digital payments from customers. QR code scanners were removed from counters at several markets. However, many traders made them available to customers who did not have cash. Small traders and vendors were also reluctant to deny customers the option of making payments through UPI.
“In the case of transactions above Rs2,000, we split the bills to avoid the MDR. The retailers work around their business on marginal 2% to 3% profit, and if 0.4% MDR is collected eventually the profit will be reduced. You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Kolhapur | Silver Rate in Kolhapur | Bank Holidays in Kolhapur | Public Holidays in Kolhapur Stay updated with the latest Kolhapur news.
This will become a general practice from now on, as we cannot deny customers the option of paying through UPI,” a trader from Kapiltirth Market said. Sanjay Shete, president of KCCI, said, “UPI is convenient way for transactions. Traders at some shops pasted black paper on the UPI QR code. We don’t have any opposition to this mode. However, the proposed MDR will impose additional burden on the traders. We warn the govt that if the MDR decision is not rolled back, we will stop using UPI and we will not be responsible for the inconvenience likely to be caused to the customers. ” Representatives of the body marched from Binkhambi Ganesh Mandir to Papachi Tickti along Mahadwar Road, urging traders to stop accepting UPI payments and ask customers for cash. They also distributed stickers bearing the slogan ‘No UPI, Only Cash’. Download the TOI App.