New Delhi, Nov. 12 -- With the Diwali festive period drawing to a close, attention is turning to the implementation of Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) charges on select person-to-merchant (P2M) Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions. The revised framework could mark a significant shift for India's digital payments industry, creating a recurring revenue stream for payment companies such as Paytm and Pine Labs.

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) had initially scheduled the revised MDR framework to take effect from 15 October. However, it deferred the implementation to avoid introducing additional transaction costs for merchants during the festive season.

In a statement issued on 13 October, NPCI said the charges would b...