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1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsAhmedabad-based industrial marketplace Pneucons plans to stop accepting UPI payments on orders from October 10, 2026, according to an October 4 report by Mint, which attributes the decision to co-founder Pritesh Lakhani. The company’s implementation was not independently confirmed. Lakhani said a 0.4% merchant discount rate (MDR) on the full customer payment would consume nearly all of Pneucons’ commission on some larger orders.
Why Pneucons says it is stopping UPI payments
Mint reported that Pneucons plans to discontinue UPI for orders from October 10, citing the cost of MDR under the updated framework. The company decision and the explanation come from that report; no primary Pneucons announcement was available to independently confirm the plan or its implementation.
The issue, as described by Lakhani, is the difference between the amount on which the marketplace earns commission and the amount on which the payment charge is calculated. If commission is earned on a pre-tax order value but MDR is charged on the customer’s larger, tax-inclusive payment, the fee can absorb most of that commission.
What “MDR ate 94% of our margins” means
Mint’s illustrative calculation compares the MDR on one hypothetical order with the commission on that same order. It is not a claim that UPI MDR is 94%, that Pneucons loses 94% of every order, or that 94% of the company’s overall profit disappears.
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| Illustrative item in Mint’s example | Amount |
|---|---|
| Pre-tax order value | ₹10,000 |
| GST at 18% | ₹1,800 |
| Customer payment, including GST | ₹11,800 |
| Pneucons’ pre-tax commission at 0.5% | ₹50 |
| MDR at 0.4% of the full customer payment | ₹47.20 |
| Commission remaining after that MDR, before the article’s further GST-on-MDR discussion | ₹2.80 |
₹47.20 is 94.4% of the example’s ₹50 commission, which explains the rounded “94%” wording in Mint’s headline. These figures are an illustration reported by Mint, not verified information about Pneucons’ typical order mix, actual margins, or company-wide profitability. Mint also reported Lakhani’s phrase, “MDR ate 94% of our margins”; the quotation is attributed to him by the publication.
Which UPI payments the 0.4% MDR framework covers
The Ministry of Finance’s September 15, 2026 release says the 0.4% MDR applies to specified person-to-merchant (P2M) UPI transactions above ₹2,000. It is capped at ₹300 for transactions of ₹75,000 and above. The rate should not be assumed for every merchant: the applicable category and transaction terms matter.
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| Payment or category described by the Ministry | Stated treatment |
|---|---|
| Specified P2M transactions above ₹2,000 | 0.4% MDR; capped at ₹300 for transactions of ₹75,000 and above |
| Qualifying transactions above ₹2,000 in specified essential and thin-margin sectors, including railways, telecommunications, insurance, fuel and agricultural inputs | Flat ₹5 charge |
| Specified capital-market payments | 0.02% MDR, capped at ₹300 |
| Merchant payments up to ₹2,000 | Free, according to the Ministry |
| Person-to-person (P2P) transfers, at any value | Free, according to the Ministry |
| Eligible small merchants receiving up to ₹1 lakh per month through UPI QR codes in the P2PM category | Zero MDR, according to the Ministry |
The Ministry says MDR is borne within the merchant payment ecosystem and that banks have been advised to ensure merchants do not pass the charge on to customers. It also estimates that approximately 96% of merchant transactions will remain unaffected; that is an economy-wide Ministry estimate, not a statistic about Pneucons orders.
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What customers and merchants should take from the report
- For Pneucons customers: the reported plan concerns UPI payments on orders starting October 10, 2026. The report does not establish which other payment methods Pneucons will offer, so customers should check the options shown by the marketplace when placing an order.
- For merchants: a headline MDR rate alone does not establish the cost for a particular transaction. Check whether it is P2M, the merchant category, the amount charged, the fee base and any applicable cap or category-specific rate.
- For interpreting the 94% figure: it compares a calculated ₹47.20 MDR with a ₹50 commission in Mint’s example. It does not measure overall business profit or describe every transaction.
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