Srinagar, June 11 -- The central government is considering a major policy shift that could reintroduce the Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions exceeding Rs.3,000, sources familiar with the matter told NDTV Profit. The move is aimed at helping banks and payment service providers recover growing infrastructure and operational costs associated with high-value digital payments.

The plan under discussion would apply MDR based on the transaction amount rather than the merchant's overall turnover. "Smaller UPI transactions are likely to stay exempt, but high-value payments could soon attract a fee, effectively rolling back the zero-MDR policy introduced in January 2020," a senior official said.

A high-...