Now Reading: Finance Ministry: No UPI charges for consumers, only select merchants
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Finance Ministry: No UPI charges for consumers, only select merchants
The finance ministry has clarified that consumers will not pay any transaction charges for using UPI. The clarification follows a new Bill that would allow banks to charge merchants a fee for…
The Story in Brief
The finance ministry has clarified that consumers will not pay any transaction charges for using UPI. The clarification follows a new Bill that would allow banks to charge merchants a fee for UPI payments, sparking fears of costs being passed on. The ministry said any future Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) would apply only to a limited set of merchants above a certain threshold, at a nominal rate lower than card MDRs.
All person-to-person UPI transactions will remain free. The government argued the system needs a self-sustaining revenue model as transaction volumes grow, with July seeing 2,366 crore transactions worth Rs 29.87 lakh crore. The ministry denied external pressure, calling media reports of US influence 'completely false'.
The Indian Opinion
The panic over UPI charges ignores the government's clear, repeated assurances that consumers will not pay. The real debate is about funding security and rural expansion without burdening merchants. The US trade report's complaint about a 'non-level playing field' is a red herring, India's UPI success is homegrown. The test will be the threshold for merchant MDR and whether it truly exempts small shopkeepers.
Source: medianama.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
