MDR rollout should be deferred briefly for awareness drive: CAIT's Khandelwal
New Delhi, Sep 23
BJP MP and President of Confederation of All India Traders Praveen Khandelwal on Wednesday called for a month-long nationwide awareness campaign on the proposed Merchant Discount Rate on certain UPI transactions, saying the move would help clear the confusion among traders and the general public.
Khandelwal said the government should consider deferring the implementation for a short period and use the time to engage with stakeholders and explain why MDR is being introduced.
"Whenever we avail ourselves of a service, we should pay for that service. I believe the 0.40 per cent MDR charge is very reasonable and there is also a cap of Rs 300," Khandelwal said.
He said that customers making higher-value transactions could use RuPay debit cards, where, according to him, there is currently no such charge.
"The most important point is that if someone wants to make a higher-value transaction, they can use a RuPay debit card, on which there is no charge in the present context," he said.
Khandelwal alleged that the Opposition had created confusion among traders and the public over the MDR issue.
"Given the kind of confusion that the Opposition has created across the country, I believe it would be appropriate to defer the implementation for a short period and conduct an awareness campaign across the country explaining why the MDR has become necessary," he said.
He suggested that if the proposed implementation is scheduled from October 15, it could be deferred for a few days to allow consultations with stakeholders and enable the government and industry representatives to explain the mechanism.
"If the implementation is from October 15, we can defer it for a few days, hold discussions with stakeholders and remove the confusion. People should be told that if they want to undertake higher-value transactions, they can use RuPay debit cards, where there is no charge," Khandelwal said.
According to him, an awareness drive would help people understand the structure of the MDR, including the cap on the charge.
"I believe that if it is deferred for a few days and an awareness drive is conducted, everyone will understand that the MDR is actually quite reasonable and that there is also a cap on it," he said.
— IANS
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