The new scheme, rolled out on 15 October, will apply a 0.4% fee on UPI transfers above ₹2,000 to merchants classified as 'large', with a maximum levy of ₹300 when the transaction hits ₹75,000. NewPARA A ₹6,000 payment would normally attract ₹24 in MDR, but merchants can ask customers to make three separate ₹2,000 transfers, keeping each below the threshold and evading the charge. NewPARA NPCI officials clarified that it does not intend to impose a daily cap on repeated payments to the same merchant. “If the customer is willing to pay the merchant three times and both sides agree, it is between them,” one NPCI insider told the financial daily, adding that it does not foresee a surge in such workarounds. NewPARA The zero‑MDR category for small merchants, exempt from the 0.4% rate, is monitored if a merchant’s collections cross ₹1 lakh a month for three consecutive months. Yet the FAQs do not specify whether collections must be aggregated across multiple bank accounts or QR codes, allowing merchants to distribute receipts to stay below the threshold. Misclassification—such as treating ordinary sales as recurring auto‑pay—could also be abused. NewPARA Overall, NPCI estimates that more than 95% of merchant‑payment volume will remain free, while high‑value transactions above ₹2 000 account for about two‑thirds of the total transaction value. The payments body says it expects merchants to experiment with split payments, but it does not anticipate widespread adoption. NewPARA In Delhi, a shopkeeper who sells electronics said he would ask customers to split a ₹6,000 purchase into three ₹2,000 payments to avoid the MDR, illustrating the practical appeal of the loophole for small‑scale traders.