Crisis on UPI payment of more than Rs 2,000 at petrol pumps

If you also often use online payment i.e. UPI instead of paying cash while filling petrol or diesel in your car, then this news may blow your senses. Petrol pump operators and traders have now taken a big decision to protest strongly against the new rules to UPI payment in Madhya Pradesh. According to the Petrol Pump Dealers Association, from October 16, UPI payment will not be accepted at all for the purchase of petrol or diesel worth more than Rs 2,000 at all petrol pumps in the state.

What is the whole matter and why did the traders take this step?

The association clearly says that this big decision has been taken in strong protest against the new Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) which will be implemented from October 15. According to the provisions of the new rules, now an MDR charge of Rs 5 per transaction will have to be paid on all UPI transactions above Rs 2,000. According to Ajay Singh, President of Petrol Pump Association, if we look at the example of just one petrol pump in Bhopal city alone, then on an average 100 such UPI transactions take place every day.

According to this, after adding 18% GST on MDR of Rs 5, there will be an additional out-of-pocket expenditure of approximately Rs 5.90 on each transaction. Thus, just one petrol pump will incur a huge financial burden of around Rs 590 per day and around Rs 17,700 in the entire month. Dealers argue that they already get very low margins on the sale of petrol and diesel, hence this exorbitant charge on UPI transactions will make it very difficult for them to run their business. For this reason, it has now been announced to completely stop UPI payments of more than Rs 2,000.

Unique and strong protest by traders in Indore

Not only the petrol pump operators, but also the traders in Indore city, which is known as the financial capital of Madhya Pradesh, have decided to launch a strong agitation against this MDR charge on UPI. More than 100 major business organizations of the city have come together to make a big announcement that they will not accept any UPI payment above Rs 2,000 on September 23.

To register their protest in a unique and effective way, traders will tie a black cloth on the UPI scanner (QR Code) and digital payment sound box installed at their shops. Apart from this, awareness and anger posters to this protest are also being pasted outside the shops. Merchant organizations clearly say that forcibly imposing such additional charges on UPI payments will drastically increase the expenses of small and medium businessmen, which they will no longer tolerate.