Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday announced the absorption of the Merchant Discount Rate, or MDR, Mint reported. MDR on debit cards is the amount that a merchant has to pay to his service providers when a consumer swipes her card on the merchant’s point-of-sales terminal. It is also applicable to online transactions.

Sitharaman said on Saturday that from January, all businesses with an annual turnover of more than Rs 50 crore must provide the facility of payment through RuPay debit card and UPI QR code, without levying any MDR. The MDR on cards can range from 0% to 2% of the transaction amount.

The finance minister also said that two public sector banks have been asked to clear pending vigilance cases, PTI reported. Sitharaman made the remark after holding a review meeting held with top executives of public sector banks, ahead of the Union Budget.

Sitharaman said she had a very useful meeting with the representatives of public sector banks on the matter of digital payments, Business Standard reported. She had earlier this week held a meeting with the top executives of private sector banks.

The Union Budget will be presented on February 1. Sitharaman has sought suggestions from the public on the Budget, apart from holding meetings with other stakeholders such as industrialists, economists, farmers and traders. A member of the public can submit her suggestions by clicking on the “Inviting Ideas and Suggestions for Union Budget 2020-2021” banner on the MyGov website.