Now Reading: India bars bank charges on UPI payments up to Rs 2,000
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India bars bank charges on UPI payments up to Rs 2,000
The government has notified that no bank or system provider shall impose any direct or indirect charge on Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions up to Rs 2,000 and on RuPay debit card…
The government has notified that no bank or system provider shall impose any direct or indirect charge on Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions up to Rs 2,000 and on RuPay debit card payments, according to a gazette notification issued on September 14. The Ministry of Finance, exercising powers under the amended Section 10A of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007, specified the two electronic payment modes that will remain free from charges. Deccan Herald reports the notification covers UPI payments up to Rs 2,000 and RuPay-powered debit cards.
The notification ends weeks of debate over whether the government planned to reintroduce merchant discount rate (MDR) on UPI after a zero-MDR regime since January 2020. ET BFSI notes the amended law empowers the central government to specify protected modes, and this is the first such specification. The notification does not prescribe any MDR or charge for UPI transactions above Rs 2,000. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had earlier said consumers would not be charged for everyday UPI transactions, and any future MDR, if introduced, would apply only to a limited set of merchant transactions.
Indian Opinion Analysis
Both sources report the same notification, but ET BFSI provides more context by detailing the legislative amendment that enabled the notification and the preceding debate over MDR. Deccan Herald reports the core fact concisely. The key difference is depth: ET BFSI frames the notification as the resolution of a policy controversy, while Deccan Herald treats it as a straightforward regulatory announcement. A balanced reading notes that the notification protects small transactions but leaves the door open for future charges on larger UPI payments, as the government has said any MDR would be nominal and limited. The next step is to watch for any further notification on MDR for transactions above Rs 2,000.
Coverage: 2 sources, 2 neutral
Sources (2): deccanherald.com (neutral report), bfsi.economictimes.indiatimes.com (neutral report)
This brief was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.
