Kerala hotels association to stop taking UPI payments above ₹2,000 over the 0.4% merchant fee
13 October 2026
The Kerala Hotel and Restaurant Association said on Tuesday that its members will stop accepting UPI payments above ₹2,000 from 15 October.
The announcement came over a 0.4% merchant discount rate set for person-to-merchant UPI transactions above ₹2,000 at medium and large merchant establishments, which was to take effect on 15 October; small vendors are exempt.
Association president G. Jayapal said customers will have to pay in cash for transactions above that amount, and that the charge adds to a cost burden on small establishments.
In a joint statement, Mr. Jayapal and general secretary N. Abdul Razak asked that the charge be scrapped, or that the threshold be raised from ₹2,000 to ₹10,000.
Later the same day the National Payments Corporation of India said the charge would be implemented immediately after Diwali, on a date to be notified separately, putting off the 15 October rollout.
Traders in Tamil Nadu, under the Vanigar Sangangalin Peramaippu, had called a one-day UPI boycott on 12 October, with a mixed response in Chennai.
In plain words
MDR Merchant Discount Rate — The fee a merchant pays, as a share of the bill, for accepting a digital payment.
UPI Unified Payments Interface — India's instant bank-to-bank payment system worked through mobile applications.
Person-to-merchant — A payment made by a customer to a shop or business, as against one person paying another.