Shares of Paytm, Pine Labs and MobiKwik fell by as much as 7% after the National Payments Corporation of India delayed the rollout of merchant discount rate fees on select Unified Payments Interface transactions beyond Diwali.
NPCI postpones MDR rollout
The decision concerns merchant discount rate, or MDR, fees linked to a portion of UPI transactions. The rollout had been expected by Diwali but will now take place later, according to the information provided.
No revised rollout date was provided. The delay leaves the timing of the proposed fee change unresolved for businesses connected to the affected UPI transactions.
Market reaction
The postponement was accompanied by declines in shares of Paytm, Pine Labs and MobiKwik, with losses reaching up to 7%. The move puts the market focus on the timing of any future MDR implementation and its potential relevance to companies associated with digital payments.
Further details on the scope of the fees, the revised schedule and their effect on individual companies were not provided.