‘No UPI Day’: CAIT factchecks claims for October 2, calls reports ‘misleading’

The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has categorically denied issuing or endorsing any nationwide “No UPI Day” on October 2, calling viral social media claims “completely misleading and false” and advising citizens to rely only on official communications.

In a post on X, CAIT issued a “FAKE NEWS ALERT” after reports began circulating that the apex traders’ body had announced a boycott of Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions on Gandhi Jayanti. “There have been reports circulating on social media suggesting that CAIT has called for a nationwide ‘No UPI Day’ on 2nd October. We want to clarify that these reports are completely misleading and false. CAIT has not given any such call,” the body said.

No decision, no resolution: CAIT’s clarification

In a media clarification issued on September 25, CAIT said it had taken “serious note” of reports and social media posts attributing the October 2 call to the organisation. It said the reports were “completely incorrect and misleading” and did not reflect CAIT’s official position.

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“CAIT categorically clarified that no decision, resolution or official announcement has been made by the organisation regarding any ‘No UPI Day’ observance on 2nd October,” it said.

The body cautioned that “any report, statement or communication attributing such a call to CAIT is factually wrong and appears to be based on misinformation or misinterpretation.”

It also noted that some trade organisations and regional bodies may have independently announced programmes or protests over merchant discount rate (MDR) issues, but stressed such initiatives “are entirely their own decisions and must not be linked with or attributed to CAIT in any manner.”

MDR row and trader protests

The confusion comes amid growing trader opposition to the government’s decision to levy a 0.4% MDR on specified person-to-merchant UPI transactions above ₹2,000 from October 15.

While some regional associations have floated protest ideas, including cash-only drives and possible UPI boycotts, CAIT’s latest statement seeks to distance the national body from the October 2 narrative and prevent further misinformation.

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For now, UPI services are not scheduled to shut down on October 2 on account of any CAIT call, and users are being urged to treat unverified social media forwards with caution.