Recently there was news that Reserve Bank of India is reviewing UPI payment. It was said that the Reserve Bank is considering imposing MDR charge i.e. Merchant Discount Rate on UPI payment. But now the Finance Ministry has denied such news with its official Twitter handle.
New Delhi: For the past few days, there were continuous rumors and reports that the government can levy charge on UPI payment, but now the Finance Ministry itself has put a full stop on such news and rumours. The Finance Ministry has made it clear that no charge is being levied on UPI services.
There was news of imposition of charge on UPI payment
Recently there was news that Reserve Bank of India is reviewing UPI payment. It was said that the Reserve Bank is considering imposing MDR charge i.e. Merchant Discount Rate on UPI payment. But now the Finance Ministry has denied such news with its official Twitter handle.
What did the Finance Ministry tweet
A statement has been issued by the Finance Ministry regarding the imposition of charge on UPI. In a tweet made by the Ministry of Finance, it was said that UPI is such a digital platform which is very convenient for the public and has a big contribution to the economy.
The government is not considering imposing any kind of charge on the UPI payment service. Other options will be considered for cost recovery for service providers. To strengthen the digital payment ecosystem, the government had announced financial assistance last year. This help will continue this year also.
UPI is a digital public good with immense convenience for the public & productivity gains for the economy. There is no consideration in Govt to levy any charges for UPI services. The concerns of the service providers for cost recovery have to be met through other means. (1/2)
— Ministry of Finance (@FinMinIndia) August 21, 2022
Digital payment system will continue to get financial help
The government has decided to continue the financial support for the digital payment ecosystem. Last year, the government had announced 1500 crores for the loss of MDR charges due to digital payment system. The government had made the RuPay debit card and UPI charge-free on January 1, 2020. In such a situation, there was a loss of MDR charge on every transaction. Financial help is being given only to compensate for this.