New Delhi, Sept. 16 -- Petrol pump dealers across India have threatened to stop accepting unified payments interface (UPI) payments of Rs.2,000 and above and switch to cash if they are required to pay a flat merchant discount rate (MDR) of Rs.5 per transaction, saying the charge would further squeeze their wafer-thin margins.

Dealers from Delhi National Capital Region (NCR), Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Mumbai, Karnataka and Rajasthan told HT that MDR in any form is an additional burden on their wafer-thin margins of around Rs.2.40-3.40 per litre, which are also determined by the government through its oil marketing companies (OMCs). Most of the individual dealers requested anonymity, fearing reprisals.

"We may have to stop accepting UPI paym...