Nagpur: The ‘No UPI Day’ protest in the city received a mixed response, with several traders refusing digital payments from customers while others continued to accept UPI transactions.
The protest, called by the Nagpur Chamber of Commerce, saw some traders covering their UPI QR scanners with black cloth as a symbolic demonstration against the proposed Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on person-to-merchant transactions above Rs2,000. Its president Pradeep Jajoo said the proposed 0.4% MDR on select UPI transactions above Rs2,000 would increase the cost of doing business. My ATM card has lapsed due to non-use over the years.
Vishwas Kulkarni, who visited a grocery store in Narendra Nagar, said he was unaware of the protest. “I wanted to buy some daily-use items, but the shopkeeper told me that he would only accept cash. It was very frustrating,” he said.
He had also covered the UPI QR code. I have stopped carrying cash since the time UPI started. Nagpur Chamber of Commerce termed the protest a success, saying traders were not against UPI or digital payments but opposed the proposed additional transaction cost. The Chamber reiterated that the ‘No UPI Day’ campaign was aimed at highlighting traders’ concerns over additional transaction costs and was not intended to oppose digital payments. It appealed to the govt to resolve the issue through dialogue with the trading community. For consumers, however, the protest highlighted how dependent many people have become on cashless payments, with some discovering only at the point of purchase that their preferred mode of payment was temporarily unavailable.