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Most mom and pop stores (Kirana stores) in India cannot get a PoS device easily. UPI solves this problem by being much easier for merchants to onboard and start accepting payments with just a QR code instead of a PoS device.

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Not just about PoS device. During early credit/debit card days, lot of stores would pass on merchandise fees directly to customers, giving discount in case of cash transactions, some stores still charge extra. This is not allowed in west as credit cards require same price as cash transactions, and most users perceive credit card rewards as something positive as one would lose out on this rewards when using cash. In India perception is that one would be making loss* if using credit cards. UPI with no fees as of now, is perceived as equal to cash by most people not dealing with black money.

> This is not allowed in west as credit cards require same price as cash transactions

Network rules disallowing customer surcharges have actually become prohibited by law in quite a few places.

Discounts coupons are legally allowed based on payment method type. Seller often provide discount coupons when you use UPI payment method.

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