UPI Transactions to Remain Charge-Free: Finance Ministry Notifies New Payment Rules:

The Ministry of Finance, Government of India, has officially clarified that the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions will remain charge-free. All individuals using UPI to send money to their friends, pay at shops, or scan a QR code will not have to pay any charge.

According to the finance ministry, the transactions that will remain charge-free are as follows:

• Person-to-Person (P2P) transfer will remain charge-free.

• Vendors earning income upto Rs 1 lakh per month through UPI QR codes are not required to pay any charge.

• Small, everyday shop UPI payments not exceeding Rs 2,000 will remain completely free.

  

The following are cases in which UPI transactions will carry charges:

• Larger businesses receiving high-value person-to-merchant (P2M) UPI payments worth over Rs 2,000 will need a small 0.4% processing fee (nominal Merchant Discount Rate), which is lower in comparison to credit card charges or other network charges.

• Essential services such as railways, fuel, telecom, bill payments, insurance, etc., will carry a charge of Rs 5 per transaction exceeding Rs 2,000.

• Mutual fund and securities payments are capped at Rs 300. According to the source, a minimal charge of 0.02% has been set for such payments.

The Finance Ministry has also set certain rules for the protection of customers.

1. Banks are directed to ensure that the MRD costs are not transferred from merchants to the customers.

2. All UPI applications are restricted from setting any platform charges.

Some of the posts on social media claim that the finance ministry has taken this significant step in foreign influence. However, the ministry has officially clarified that these claims are completely false and misleading. The government has stated that UPI policy decisions are not dependent on any foreign country; conversely, they are completely independent. The key objective of these changes is to complete the nation's goal of building a self-sustaining, inclusive, and affordable digital payments ecosystem.