New Delhi, Oct. 12 -- The revised fee framework for Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions could indirectly burden consumers through higher retail prices, even as merchants are barred from directly passing on the charges, an IIT Bombay report has warned, calling for changes to the proposed model.

The report estimates that the Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) framework could generate around Rs 18,000 crore annually for payment service providers. However, it argues that businesses may incorporate the additional expense into their general selling prices to protect profit margins, potentially making even customers undertaking transactions below Rs 2,000 bear part of the cost.

"UPI may lose public trust if it is floated as per the present...