UPI Transactions Will Remain Free Of Cost, Clarifies Finance Ministry

Unified Payments Interface (UPI), which was an instant hit in the country is free of charge for users to make payments. Recently, there were reports that this payment service might charge users but the Indian government has brushed off these allegations. The Union Finance Ministry has officially confirmed that no service charge will be levied on UPI transactions.

UPI Services Will Remain Free

The Finance Ministry took to its official Twitter handle to confirm that UPI is a digital public good that offers immense convenience to the public and productivity gains for the economy. It stated that the government is not planning to levy any chargers for UPI services. It also added that the service providers have to handle the cost recovery through other means.

Furthermore, the Finance Ministry also stated that the government provided financial support for the digital payment ecosystem in 2021 and announced the same in 2022 as well. This effort was taken to encourage further adoption of digital payments in the country and to promote payment platforms that are user-friendly and economical.

The government mandated a zero-charge framework for UPI transactions with effect from January 1, 2020. This means that there will be no charges for users and merchants alike.

UPI-Related Concerns

This clarification after several media reports that RBI could consider adding fees to each financial transaction made via the UPI system. These reports sparked a buzz on social media with people seeking clarification on the same. These speculations made their way after RBI published a paper titled, "Discussion Paper on Charges in Payment System". The paper had literature implying that the central bank was considering adding fees for each financial UPI transaction.

The discussion paper by the central bank also covers all aspects that are related to charges on all payment systems, including IMPS, RTGS, NEFT, PPIs, debit, and credit cards. It said that the charges for payment services should be competitive and reasonable for users and should provide an optimal revenue stream for the intermediaries.

To strike this balance, it was considered useful to carry out a comprehensive review of the charges levied in the payment systems.