The Union government to bear MDR charges to promote digital transactions

To promote digital transactions, the union cabinet has recently decided to bear the Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) applicable on digital payments via debit cards, etc., up to Rs 2,000. The MDR applicable on transactions made through debit cards, the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and Aadhaar-Enabled Payments System (AEPS) up to and including a value of Rs 2,000 will be borne by the government for a period of two years with effect from 1 January, 2018. MDR is the charge paid by a merchant to a bank for accepting payment from customers via credit or debit cards. It is expressed as a percentage of the transaction amount.