# Bill to enable UPI MDR tabled, no decision yet: Sitharaman 2026-08-07T06:01:21+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet The government has tabled a bill in the Lok Sabha to amend the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007, removing the blanket ban on merchant discount rate (MDR) for UPI transactions. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman clarified on Thursday that no decision has been taken to impose MDR, and if introduced, it will apply only to merchants, not consumers. She said the matter will be examined by an NPCI-led steering committee after the bill is passed. The amendment is an enabling provision that gives the Reserve Bank of India the legal authority to permit MDR in future through a government notification. Currently, MDR is explicitly prohibited on UPI and RuPay transactions, with the cost of infrastructure and security borne entirely by banks and payment firms. Industry participants expect that if MDR is reintroduced, it will likely be limited to large merchants and transactions above a certain value. ## Coverage - livemint.com - timesnownews.com Tags: digital payments, MDR, Payments law, RBI, UPI Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/upi-mdr-may-return-under-proposed-payment-law-amendment/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/upi-mdr-may-return-under-proposed-payment-law-amendment/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes.