PayTm shares tank 7% amid reports of government imposing MDR on large-ticket UPI transactions

New Delhi: Shares of One97 Communications, the owner of Paytm brand, on Thursday ended 7 per cent lower amid reports that the government is planning to impose a Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on large-ticket UPI transactions.

However, the finance ministry has termed these claims as "false, baseless, and misleading".

The stock tanked 9.99 per cent to Rs 864.20 during the day on the BSE. Later, it ended at Rs 895.15 apiece, down 6.77 per cent.

On the NSE, shares of the firm ended 7 per cent lower at Rs 893 after dropping 10 per cent to Rs 864.40 in intra-day trade.

In volume terms, 9.64 lakh shares of the firm were traded on the BSE and 246.71 lakh shares exchanged hands on the NSE during the day.

The finance ministry has said no MDR will be levied on transactions through Unified Payments Interface platforms.

"Speculation and claims that the MDR will be charged on UPI transactions are completely false, baseless, and misleading," the ministry said in a post on X on Wednesday.

"Such baseless and sensation-creating speculations cause needless uncertainty, fear and suspicion among our citizens. The government remains fully committed to promoting digital payments via UPI," it said.

MDR is the cost paid by a merchant to a bank for accepting payment from their customers via digital means. The merchant discount rate is expressed as a percentage of the transaction amount.

The ministry's clarification came following reports that the government is planning to impose MDR on large-ticket UPI transactions. PTI SUM SUM SHW