What’s at stake for Paytm in the MDR debate

The Finance Ministry has dismissed reports about the possible introduction of a merchant discount rate (MDR) — a fee paid by merchants to banks or payment service providers every time a customer makes a digital payment, like with a debit/credit card or Unified Payments Interface (UPI) —on transactions, according to an official statement. This clarification comes after several media articles said that MDR charges could be reintroduced.