Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman confirms that new MDR charges on high-value UPI merchant payments will not be levied on consumers, aiming to quell concerns over the fee framework.
Nirmala Sitharaman has said the merchant discount rate on UPI payments will not be pushed on to consumers, seeking to calm concern over a newly introduced fee framework for higher-value merchant transactions.
Speaking to ANI in Chandigarh on Monday, the finance minister said the charge is levied between payment service providers to support the system and improve service quality, not to tax ordinary users. She said it does not apply to transactions below ₹2,000 and insisted that the burden would not fall on customers.
Her remarks follow the National Payments Corporation of India’s move on September 15 to introduce a new MDR framework for UPI merchant payments above ₹2,000. Under the arrangement, such person-to-merchant transactions will attract a fee of 0.4 per cent, capped at ₹300 per transaction, while consumers will continue to use UPI without charge. The government has said roughly 96 per cent of person-to-merchant transactions would remain unaffected.
Sitharaman also accused opposition parties of spreading confusion over the issue, saying she had already clarified the matter in Parliament. Separately, she criticised Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over mimicry at a recent event in Indore, calling it disrespectful to the office of the Leader of the Opposition.
She also rejected allegations from the Aam Aadmi Party that Punjab was being denied its due central funds, saying no state is made to lose money or suffer undue hardship and that payments are released on time. She said such claims were politically motivated and aimed at covering up poor performance.
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