Doomdooma, Sept. 17 -- Assam Pradesh Congress Committee president Gaurav Gogoi has questioned the Centre's decision to introduce a 0.4 per cent Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on specified high-value UPI payments to merchants, pointing to the Finance Ministry's categorical rejection of reports about such a move in June 2025.

The new framework, announced this week, will take effect from October 15, 2026. Under the revised system, a 0.4 per cent MDR will apply to specified person-to-merchant (P2M) UPI transactions above Rs 2,000, with the charge capped at Rs 300 for transactions of Rs 75,000 and above. Person-to-person payments will remain free, while the Finance Ministry has said around 96 per cent of P2M transactions will remain unaffected....