No UPI day was observed by traders in Nashik today
You got people used to using UPI, you got merchants used to accepting payments via UPI, and now you say taxes will apply on transactions over Rs 2,000. Resident Ram Deshpande said, “We also understand that the charges payable will always be collected from us and hence we have decided not to transact over Rs 2,000.
Nashik Grain and Grocery Wholesale Merchants Association president Praful Sancheti said the decision was forced on merchants after businesses and customers were encouraged to adopt digital transactions. “The govt has placed the burden of UPI’s customer charges onto shopkeepers. That is unfair. We merchants oppose this. Consumers expressed frustration over the sudden disruption but sympathised with merchants.
Today, all the merchants covered the QR payment boxes with black cloth as a sign of protest, and no one accepted digital payments. No UPI Day was observed on a large scale today,” Sancheti said, adding that consumers cooperated by shifting to cash and debit cards. But today we had to look for ATMs to withdraw cash and I think I have used the debit card for the first time since Covid.”
In the end, the burden will come on the consumers,” she said. Poonam Powar, a local resident, criticised the govt for levying charges on trade. “If govt is going to levy a charge on the traders, they will not spend it from their pocket.