'UPI MDR may raise retail prices for consumers' warns IIT Bombay

An IIT Bombay report warned that UPI Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) charges could indirectly burden consumers through higher retail prices, despite rules barring merchants from passing on the charges. Businesses may raise general selling prices to protect margins, affecting even transactions below ₹2,000. Report has also called for exempting debt collection and loan repayment transactions from MDR.