Fuel stations across Tamil Nadu warn they may cease accepting UPI and card payments following a surge in cybercrime investigations, prompting calls for government intervention to protect merchants from undue suspicion and financial loss.
Fuel retailers across Tamil Nadu are warning that they may stop accepting UPI and other digital payments after a spate of bank account freezes and police inquiries linked to cybercrime complaints. The Tamil Nadu Petroleum Dealers Association, which represents about 5,000 outlets, has asked chief minister C. Joseph Vijay to step in, saying dealers should not be treated as suspects simply for taking payment through approved digital platforms. Industry voices elsewhere have also raised alarm, with some petrol pump owners in Maharashtra moving to suspend card and UPI transactions over fraud concerns.
In a letter to the chief minister, association president K.P. Murali said petrol station operators were being pulled into cybercrime probes even though their only role was to receive money from customers buying petrol or diesel. The association argued that retailers have no practical way to check every buyer’s identity or to determine whether funds have passed through an account already linked to suspected fraud.
The dispute comes as India’s digital payment system faces growing scrutiny. The Reserve Bank of India has recently proposed safeguards to curb fraud, including delayed credit, transaction controls for vulnerable customers and a “kill switch” for user-led protections. Data from the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal has shown a sharp rise in digital payment fraud over the past five years, underlining the pressure on merchants and banks alike to tighten controls without disrupting everyday commerce.
Fuel stations are particularly exposed because payment systems at forecourts often rely on a mix of outdoor terminals, legacy equipment and interconnected point-of-sale networks, which can widen the security perimeter and create opportunities for tampering or malware. The issue is not limited to cybercrime investigations: in the past, petrol dealers have also resisted card fees and other payment costs, arguing that such charges eat into already thin margins and can work against the push towards cashless transactions.
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