TSPA #0014


Author: Tito Dutta

TSPA #0014 comic strip

Transcript

Frame 1 - Mi: “So, they are imposing taxes on UPI payments from 15 October?”

Frame 2 - Ti: “Not a tax, but MDR. Merchant Discount Rate.”

Frame 3 - Mi: “So, a consumer does not need to pay this extra amount?”

Frame 3 - Ti: “No.”

Frame 4 - Ti: “A consumer does not have to pay this fee. This is on merchants, and that too above a certain amount.”

Frame 5 - Ti: “MDR is the charge that merchants have to pay to the payment service provider for accepting certain UPI payments. For most merchant payments, it is still zero. And person-to-person UPI payments remain free.”

Frame 6 - Mi: “I don’t know, but I am having a deja vu.”

Frame 6 - Ti: “What?”

Frame 7 - Mi: “I remember the days when, while trying to pay using a credit card, shop owners used to ask the customer to pay the fee.”

Frame 8 - Mi: “How much can one individual fight at every purchase? Hope those days won’t return.”

Visual details

The eight-panel comic shows Ti and Mi in an urban shopping setting. Mi asks about reports of taxes on UPI payments, while Ti explains the distinction between a tax and Merchant Discount Rate (MDR), including who pays the fee. Mi then recalls the experience of shop owners asking customers to pay credit-card fees and ends by expressing concern that such a situation should not return.

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