Deccan Herald ·
Economy, business and finance
No US pressure in UPI MDR decision; NPCI circular offers no advantage to foreign credit cards: Finance Ministry
The Finance Ministry denied US pressure influenced the 0.4% MDR on UPI payments over Rs 2,000. NPCI’s September 15 circular allows only RuPay credit cards on UPI, not foreign providers. The move aims to boost domestic firms and sustain the digital payments ecosystem.
Few allegations are in the media that the MDR has been introduced because of external pressure. They are giving reference to US Trade Representative (USTR) report of 2026. The USTR report has raised the following two issues: